


Taking Risks

by Badgirl19524



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All relation ships are platonic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Feels, Biker!Keith, Depression, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Hacker!Pidge, I never meant for this, I swear, I'm really trying, I'm so sorry, Illegal Underground Fight Ring, Keith has a heart of gold, Keith thinks he's funny, Lance is sad and insecure, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pain, Past Abuse, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Shiro and Sendak wasn't so platonic...., Shiro is a good dad, Shiro is off the grid, Slight gore?, Strangers to friends to family, Waiter!Hunk, dancer!lance, he doesn't talk about it, send help, this gets dark, writing is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2018-12-08 03:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11638395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badgirl19524/pseuds/Badgirl19524
Summary: After a chance meeting in a packed diner where four strangers are sat down together and a fifth is waiting their table, this group of misfits decide to take a few risks and face the world they have been hiding from together. With a little bit of courage and a lot of support they all reveal their pasts and fears to the others while on the road. There is love and wonder and heartbreak to be found in this self discovery. In this family that was forged from luck and bonded by stars.





	1. Meetings

An old red motorcycle pulled up to a full truck stop diner in the middle of some nowhere small town, it was late on a Sunday morning, probably why it was packed. The man that stepped off the bike had long messy hair and dark violet eyes, heavy with darker bags from a lack of sleep. He pulled change from the interior pocket of his jacket, hoping to have enough for a coffee. He counted it twice before walking in. There was only one table left in the back of the seating area. The man was seated and told a server would be with him soon. Flipping idly through the menu he again counted his change next to the price of coffee, hoping the tax in this area wasn’t much.

The front door of the diner opened not long after, a tall tan skinned man in loose clothes stood awkwardly looking around for a place to sit. He loitered in the entrance for a time before he spotted the table in the back. Thinking it empty, he walked over only for tired eyes to look up at him questioningly when he stopped at the table. “Oh,” he said surprised to find anyone sitting there, “I’m really sorry, but you think I could take a seat? There isn’t anywhere else, and I really need something to eat,” he smiled hopefully at the stranger.

The dark haired man looked conflicted for a moment, but one glance down at the change on the table was enough to make up his mind. “Uh, yeah sure, if you can get me a coffee?” He suggested.

“Thank you, really.”

“No problem,” he nodded for the other to sit across from him.

“Oh, I’m Lance, by the way,” the taller man said holding out his hand.

“Keith,” the raven haired boy replied shaking his hand, noting how thin the man, Lance, looked just before a larger bodied man came over with a notepad and a warm smile.

“Hi, my name is Hunk and I’ll be your server this morning, can I get you boys something to drink?” He ask, looking at the odd pair, a leather clad, road hardened biker who looked as if he hadn’t slept in days and this clean shaven, flowing clothed, dead eyed, Cuban, if he was correct. Not something you see every day, but not the strangest by far. Hunk could recall just two days earlier a man who insisted he bring his cow into the diner...

“Coffee, black,” Keith said, his voice sounding just as tired as he looked.

“Ditto, please,” Lance smiled, white teeth sparkling, yet the smile seemed empty with his dull eyes that appeared next to lifeless.

Hunk nodded, “I’ll be right back with some coffee.” He said and turned to walk back to the kitchen, disappearing behind the kitchen doors.

In the short time the man was gone a short woman, with her hair tied up in a short brown ponytail, slipped into the diner, walking around unnoticed for a moment. She put on a round pair of wire framed glasses, then pulled off the wig she wore and shoved it into her bag. Her long red hair fell past her shoulders as she kept walking forward, she pulled off her black jacket and turned it inside out to reveal a green one before slipping it back on. She took out a twenty and put it down on the table where the two new acquaintances were trying to have a casual conversation. “My name is Pidge, I need to sit here and I need you both to act like you know me.” She said in a calm clear tone, though she glanced back at the door like she expected someone to walk in any moment.

The dark haired man snatched the twenty and shoved it into his pocket, scooting over, “Take a seat, plenty of room for old friends, I’m Keith and that’s Lance.” He said quickly as the new arrival, Pidge, took a seat beside him.

Even as Keith seemed very keen on taking the woman’s money, Lance looked at her oddly, “Um… Why exactly do you have to sit here?” He asked as the bell jingled to signal the entrance of another person. A few men in suits and dark sunglasses walked into the diner after, they looked around, showing a picture to the owner and speaking quietly. After having checked the place over they left, Pidge having broken into a sweat the entire time they had been in the diner, stared coldly back at the door. “The fucki- fffmph!”

Pidge turned and quickly slapped her hands over Lance’s mouth. “Shut it! It’s no big deal… please don’t say anything.” She pleaded, eyes wide and fearful. Just as Lance was about to speak again Hunk, their waiter, came back to the table with two cups of coffee.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were waiting on someone, you could have told me so I could have done the order all at once...” He said, still trying to be friendly, but was slightly annoyed as he set the cups down and pulled out his order pad, “What can I get you ma’am?” He asked.

“Coffee, as dark as you can make it.” She said. “And a pancake stack, with peanut butter.” She added quickly after flipping through Keith’s menu. Hunk nodded, looking to the other men for their orders.

“Eggs, scrambled and toast... no bacon. Thank you.” The thinner man murmured quietly holding out his menu for their server to take. When the paper left his hands he folded them in his lap and looked to Keith.

He looks conflicted once again, now having the money for actual food, he shook his head, “I’m not ready.” His eyes didn’t look up from the pictures and descriptions of all the food. Hunk just nodded once more and went back to the kitchen. Keith furrowed his brows in thought while the other two began to talk.

“So,” Pidge started, drawing out the word, “what do you do for a living?” She asked the older male to keep the short silence from growing awkward.

Lance’s eyes found his lap, teeth tugged at his lip, “I’m a dancer, I do ballet, my company was going for a trip to do a show, but I’m terrified to fly so I’m driving.” He explained looking back up with a sheepish smile, for a moment he looked a little less dead in the eyes. But the moment passed and he looked down again, “It’s stupid I know…” He muttered picking at his nails out of habit, as he stared down at his coffee.

For a long minute Pidge was silent, but she seemed intrigued. “I never said that, tell me more about your dancing.”

The Cuban looked up a little spark in his eyes, “I’ve been dancing since I was young, my mother thought it would be good for me because I was always too small to do sports and I took to it like bees to honey, it was amaze. I loved it so much, my whole family came to every show. My favorite was The nutcracker, I’ve played a lead in it three times. It’s an amazing story.” Lance had practically started purring with delight as he spoke about his dancing. “What about you, what do you do?” He asked the younger lady.

“Oh, well I… I’m a computer program specialist. I specialize in finding the faults in programs to help... secure information for companies.” Pidge said, choosing her words very carefully, she pushed her glasses up on her nose, adjusting how they sat.

“You’re a hacker, no use in fancy words.” Keith muttered under his breath.

Pidge glared at him with sharp auburn eyes, “Oh so that’s why the feds are after you?” Lance asked, his eyes glittered with interest as he smiled darkly, raising his eyebrows at her.

“Well, um, I might have done something… But I don’t have to tell you anything.” She snapped becoming defensive. Lance held up his hands in defeat, accepting the answer for now. The bell sounded again and Pidge shrunk in her seat.

Lance leaned over to see who it was, “Calm down, it’s just a dude in a hoodie.” He snickers slightly and looked around as Pidge relaxed. Seeing no empty seats still he got up and walked up to the older man, a scar cut over the bridge of his nose. “Hi, I’m Lance, there aren’t any empty booths, so if you’d like you can come sit with us.” He offered with a smile.

The other man looked confused for a moment, staring down at Lance quizzically. “Uh, yeah, yeah, thank you, Lance..? I’m uh, people call me Shiro…” He said and followed Lance back to the booth, sitting beside him. “Hi, uh, I’m Shiro, and everyone is..?” He asked nervously as he looked at the others, the Lance.

“Keith.” Keith said as he folded his menu and looked up, taking in the new comer. He had black hair, but white bangs, he wore a black hoodie and his dark eyes scanned over everything like he wasn’t used to so many people around him.

“Pidge.” The girl held out her hand and for a long moment the older man stared at it before he held up his hand on the same side and rolled up his other sleeve revealing the prosthetic arm. “Oh…” Pidge then held up the opposite hand for him to shake.

“So how long have you all known each other?” Shiro asked.

Keith looked at Lance then Pidge, “Like twenty minutes?” He questioned.

“Sounds right.” Lance nods. 

“Actually I think I’ve only been here for about twelve minutes.” Pidge pipes up.

Shiro looks surprised, but is cut off by the return of Hunk with a cup of coffee and two plates of food. “Okay, I’m sorry, but why can’t you just say you’re waiting for someone? You’re making my job really difficult.” He groaned.

“I wasn’t waiting. But given there are no other seats, I took in strays, be it willingly or not.” Keith sighed looking up at the man.

Hunk heaved a sigh as well and put on a smile. “Okay, another coffee?” He asked and Shiro hesitantly nodded.

“And waffles.” Keith said handing over his menu.

“I’m not hungry thank you..” Shiro said.

Hunk wrote the last order down, “Alright, but if I come back and you have another at this table, I’m going to quit.” He sighed. Lance laughed softly and Hunk smiled. Small talk continued until the waiter returned, “Another coffee,” He set the cup down for Shiro, “and a plate of waffles. Anything else?” He asked holding another cup off coffee and lacking his apron.

“Um…” Lance looked at the rest of the group, “I think we’re good.” He said with a nod.

“Good, I’m on break.” He smiled and leaned on the table. “So if you didn’t come together where is everyone going?” Hunk asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Up state.” Pidge said, mouthful of her pancakes.

“West coast…” Lance murmured not exactly looking too happy about it.

“Wherever the road takes me.” Keith supplied, fixing his jacket collar.

“I have to say I’m heading... that way.” Shiro took a moment to look around and pointed out into a random direction.

“Well looks like you all know what you’re doing in life.” Hunk rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I’d really rather be anywhere than where I’m going.” Lance said, yeah he used to love dancing, but he was home sick to death and sick of being shoved to the back of the line up, or cast out all together. His company didn’t need him anymore… He wasn’t worth being on the team.

“I understand that feeling.” Pidge breathed out a heavy sigh. Being on the run sucked, and knowing that people's lives had been ruined because of the things she had done? It weighed heavy on her thoughts all the time, her own father was in prison because of a virus of her creation and she was sick of it all.

Shiro blurts out suddenly, “You could come with me,” getting odd looks that force him to look away. “I’ve been pretty alone… and I’m not really going- going anywhere actually so wherever sounds good to me.” He looked back at the group expecting to see dismissal, but all he saw was a kind of hope looking back at him including from the eyes of the man who had waited their table.

“You know? I always wanted out of this town.” Hunk said finishing his coffee.

“Anywhere is about where I’m heading…” Keith murmured hesitantly.

Lance smiled, “I could really use a break, so count me in.”

The group looks to the younger girl, “Oh what the hell, might as well I’ve got no one to expect me home any time soon.” She threw up her hands.

A wide grin spread over Shiro’s face having just gone from all alone to having an entire group to look after. Of course he would feel responsible for all of them, they were all just young adults with no real know of the world, it looked like he’d need to show them, except for that one, Keith, Shiro knew with just a look he had seen the world, he’d be a big help with the rest of there misfit, friends…


	2. Dusty Roads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, isn’t the grand canyon in Arizona?” Lance asked and leaned over to see the map, seeming excited once again. “I’ve always wanted to go…” He murmured softer.

At the beginning, the plan was simple. Hunk left work to pack a bag, Pidge and Lance locked their car doors having decided to just go with Shiro who had enough room in his truck as well as a bed in the covered back with his few possessions. The first day passed smoother than they thought it would, both Pidge and Lance wondered how long Shiro had been on the road, but he refused to talk about it. That was when the problems started and silence covered them all...

When night fell over the rag tag group of misfits, they stopped off to the side of the road and made themselves a camp. They sat around the fire that Keith and Shiro had set up, but they were quiet. They had been driving hours and no one was exactly sure where they were, there was nothing to point them towards anything and none of them wanted to be the first to say so. The night was quiet for many long minutes, but the silence was soon after broken.

“Keith, are you going to sit by your bike all night or are you going to join the rest of us?” It was Lance, he had been watching the other man for some time, sitting back against his parked motorcycle away from the rest of the group.

Keith looked up at the mention of his name, “I’m not cold.” He said simply, truth be told, although he hadn’t wanted to continue on the road on his own, he couldn’t fully trust these people. He didn’t know them. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to, he had left to get away from the attachments he had and he didn’t miss any of the people who he had ever called his friends. But he missed people, he missed his parents, he missed his home. Keith wished had some way to get them back... “I’m fine over here.” 

Lance opened his mouth to speak, but no words passed his lips. He looked sad, his dull eyes holding a glimmer of hurt in them. It was easy for him to assume that it was his fault, it was always his fault. When he was eight he ruined his brother’s birthday after pushing the cake his mother spent all day baking, off the counter. At twelve he missed his school play competition and they had to recast him last second, they lost. His sixteenth birthday his grandmother died… That’s just from what he could think off the top of his head, it was always his fault.

Pidge looked up from the map in her hands, “If Biker Boy wants to stay over there that’s his choice, besides I’m trying to find out where we are, so I don’t want you talking.” Her voice was sharp and slightly annoyed, Hunk leaned over her shoulder, holding a flashlight to help. He pointed out where they had been and the general directing they had gone in.

“‘Biker Boy’?” Keith spit as he stood up. “I’ve got a name you know, and I told all of you my real name. Running from the feds, how the hell do we even know if you even gave us your real name?” He growled.

“You don’t.” Pidge said unfazed by Keith’s sudden threatening tone. The man sighed, and sat down by the fire between Lance and the ever silent Shiro who seemed half asleep, hunched over with his head resting on one hand, his prosthetic laying across his lap.

“Arizona!” At the sudden shout, Shiro was wide awake, looking startled. Hunk blushed softly in embarrassment, “We’re in Arizona… we must have crossed the state line a while ago.” He spoke again quieter than last time. Shiro nodded smiling softly, looking relieved that nothing was really wrong and he quickly began to doze again.

“Hey, isn’t the grand canyon in Arizona?” Lance asked and leaned over to see the map, seeming excited once again. “I’ve always wanted to go…” He murmured softer.

Keith sighed, again, he seemed to do that a lot, he thought. “I’ve been there before, hand me the map, I could find us a quick way there.” He said holding out his hand. He knew there was something up with the Cuban man, he had passion in him, but he was dead on the outside. In the short moments he spoke about dancing he had looked so much lighter, but the words he used showed something more… Never once did Lance say he still loved dancing, it had been all past tense, he was looking back on when he loved it and it was sad. Keith could see passed those too big blue sleeves, Lance was thin, too thin, he knew it the second he shook his hand. It was a heavy thought. Now if Lance had to see the Grand Canyon to look alive again, then he’d be damned if he didn’t show it to him.

Lance looked back at him, a smile tugging at his lips, “Really? That’s so cool, what’s it like?” He asked after he snatched the map from Pidge, who let out quite a squawk in surprize, and shoved it into Keith’s hands. The long haired male also made a sharp noise in shock, fumbling for a moment.

“Yeah, yeah, cool it, not so fast, I’ll get it.” He muttered, getting up with the map to sit on his bike. Keith pulled out a cigarette box from his jacket pocket and lit it with his lighter before he started to search the map. Smoke swirl past his lips, his tired eyes scanned the paper as he took another drag, god he hadn’t had a smoke all day… He pulled the cancer stick from his lips, ashes fluttered to the ground. “It’s about a day’s travel from here. We could make it by tomorrow night if we all got some rest now.” Keith said, looking back at the others.

Hunk’s nose had scrunched up the secon Keith pulled out a cigarette, but Pidge only looked grumpy because Lance took her map, and Lance himself smiled. His eyes shut against the fire light, but he looked happy. Shiro yawned, “Okay guys, I have a few spare blankets, Pidge can have my bed for the night.” He stretched as he stood and opened the back of his truck to grab the folded blankets for the boys to make beds outside.

Pidge got to her feet, “Uh, thanks Shiro.” She said as she followed him over and he helped her up into the bed he had in the covered truck bed.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s better than the ground, so sleep well.” He said giving a little half wave as he walked back to the boys. Shiro gave out the blankets and laid one out for himself, settling down. After yawning he watched it pass around the boys around him, keith had his bag under his head, looking quite used to sleeping under the stars, while the other two looked more confused than anything on their blankets. Lance pulled on a hoodie over his loose fitting long sleeved shirt and copied Keith by using the backpack he had as a pillow. Hunk soon after followed the example and was the first to fall asleep. Shiro pulled off his hoodie to use as a pillow and fell asleep just after Hunk.

Lance looked over at the dimming fire, then passed it to see that Keith was doing the same thing. He wondered about the other man, quiet and reserved, quick to fight, something had to happen to make him like that. No one is born so bitter at the world, right? “Uh, hey, Keith?” Lance asked quietly, tired eyes looked over locking with his own.

“Yeah?”

Lance bit his lip, “Why are you on the road?”

Keith scrunched up his nose, “Go to sleep Lance…” He muttered and rolled over. Lance sighed and stared into the dying fire until he fell asleep.

When the sun started to peek over the horizon Keith had already packed his own bag and put out the last of the fire. Pidge sat on the roof of the truck, looking over the rout Keith made to get them to the Grand Canyon with her flashlight pointed down at the paper. She had changed her clothes, or at least her shirt, now a deep purple with white words reading, ‘The Truth Is Out There’ her jacket around her waist. “Hey Biker Boy.” She purred, a smirk tugged at her lips as she looked over at the man.

“Hey Ms. Most Wanted.” Keith crossed his arms, before rummaging through his bag for a clean shirt. He grimaced, he had to find a laundromat soon…

Pidge hummed, “Actually, I like that. ‘Ms. Most Wanted’ I sound important.” She laughed, sliding off the truck. The loud crackling of her feet on the rocks by the road woke Shiro with a start, he jumped, still skittish with people around, but his panic faded quickly.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes before standing up, “Morning.” He mumbled walking over to his truck, searching through a bag in the back. Shiro grabbed a bottle of water and a container of instant coffee, “It tastes like shit, but it’s got caffeine and I’m willing to share.” He smiled.

“I’m willing for anything with caffeine, I’m dead right now.” Pidge said, her face blank, her eyes held heavy bags, she had been up for hours.

Keith, on the other hand, looked much better than the day before, the dark bags under his eyes had receded a bit making him look a lot nicer. “I can second that.” Shiro wondered when the last time Keith actually slept was.

Before any coffee was made, Shiro looked over to the two still sleeping on the ground a little ways away. “Um, I’ll wake them, we need to get going soon anyway.” He said and walked over to Lance, kneeling down and shaking him lightly, “Hey, Lance, we’re going to leave soon, you want coffee?” He asked, his voice soft as he looked down at the younger man.

“Wha?” Lance’s eyes opened slowly as he sat up, the blue depths clouded with sleep as he looked around confused. “Uh, coffee? Yeah, yeah, thanks Shiro.” He rubbed his eyes and sat up, yawning, his body trying to wake up.

Shiro walked over to Hunk and did the same thing, Hunk also woke and agreed to coffee. The self proclaimed leader of the group, at least to himself, went back to his truck to get a pot to heat up the water, but realises the fire is completely dead. “Well I guess we get cold coffee.” He sighed. Keith puts his eyes down, he was used to putting out his fire as soon as he got up and getting food on the road somewhere, but it seemed this group would be different.

“So how did everyone sleep?” Hunk asked, getting up to shake out and fold his blanket. He put the blanket, along with Shiro’s and Keith’s that he also folded, in the back of Shiro’s truck.

“Okay, I guess.” Lance responded, getting up to let Hunk fold his blanket too.

“It wasn’t any worse than usual, so pretty good.” Shiro said with a smile, mixing the coffee powder with water.

Pidge laughed, “Sleep is stupid.” She muttered, having only slept for a little over three hours during the night.

“I-” Keith started, he actually slept really well, he hasn’t had more than an hour here and there for, god he didn’t know how long. The road was a dangerous place to live and without any doors to lock or a place to stay he didn’t get much sleep. But, now he had people to watch his back, “I slept really nicely actually…” He said finally.

After everyone downed a glass of cold instant coffee they decided to leave, Keith went out first to lead the way, Shiro and the others followed him down the road. Lance sat by the window, Hunk sat in the small back seat, while Pidge sat between Shiro and Lance, still holding the map.

“Okay, why do you guys think Keith is out here?” Pidge asked suddenly, after almost half an hour of silence, Lance having been dozing with his head on the window.

“Do you really think it’s fair to just assume things like that?” Hunk asked right back, leaning up against the front seats.

“Of course, now answer the question.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know him that well.” Hunk shrugged.

“He’s running from something.”

Hunk and Pidge look over at Lance who had just spoken, even Shiro spared a glance to him. “Why do you think that?” Shiro asked, having been silent for the previous parts of the conversation.

Lance looked at the others like they were missing something completely obvious. “We’re all running from something.” He said.

The words really shook the three others in the car because it was true. Hunk was running from his stand still life, Pidge was running from her guilt and those chasing her, Shiro was running from his past. Lance ran from who he was.

Keith? Keith was running from everything…

Much of their drive was silent after that, when Keith turned so did Shiro, and when Keith pulled into the parking lot of an IHOP Shiro followed him, albeit confused. Keith simply aid he was hungry and with both Hunk and Pidge agreeing food was a good idea, they got a table and each tried a new specialty pancake stack. Keith’s strawberry cream cheese was the best, everyone agreed. Hunk had one and three-fourths plates of pancakes because Lance didn’t eat much and Hunk insisted they shouldn’t waste any.

After pooling money, they paid and got back to the road, having quite a ways to go still. Again the silence swamped everyone.

“Shiro?” Pidge asked after a while on the road, the group having stopped for a bathroom break a while back.

“Yes, Pidge?” He raised an eyebrow and looked over for a moment.

“What are you running from?”

Shiro tensed, his grip on the wheel tightened, “... that’s not something I feel comfortable talking about right now, Pidge.” He said gently. Pidge nodded and the silence returned.

After having spent most of the day on the road everyone was tired and ready to sleep, Shiro almost missed Keith turn until he saw the dust fly up, Keith wasn’t on the road anymore. “You have to be kidding me…” Shiro muttered.

“Ditto, I get car sick off road.” Hunk groaned when Shiro shifted to four wheel drive and followed after Keith.

It wasn’t long ‘til they found why Keith went off the road, because a breathtaking sight soon engulfed them. The sky was slightly cloudy and the sun was setting, but the sight before them was amazing, the canyon’s orange sandy walls stretching out before them.

Lance was out of the truck as soon as it was stopped, he ran over to the edge, looking out with awe. “This is beautiful…” He breathed and looked back at Keith with a wide smile, his eyes glittering with life once again. “Thank you.” He said. Keith just smiled back, he was happy. The rest of the group gathered around to look out as well, but Keith had seen what he needed and he leaned against his bike, smiling.

Camp was set up a little ways from the edge, the fire crackled as the sky soon cleared giving the stars a chance to show. It was truly the most beautiful thing they had all ever seen. As they got settled to sleep out under the stars, Keith spoke up, “So where to next?” He asked, grinning like a fool, this was really amazing, traveling with people, having people to help out, show the way, and watch out for each other… Maybe, maybe this people thing wasn’t too bad. Maybe this could be a good thing…


	3. What Happens In Vegas Will Leave With You part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So where are we going now?” Shiro asked, breaking the heavy silence that had settled around them.
> 
>  
> 
> Pidge perked right up at that, “Las Vegas!” She squealed, her hands balled up in excitement. “It shouldn’t take more than a few hours to get there, we can get a hotel room, shower, Keith can was his stinky clothes-”
> 
>  
> 
> “Hey! I am not the only one who needs to wash my clothes-”
> 
>  
> 
> “and I can make some killer cash at The Strip!” She finished ignoring Keith’s words completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so sorry that this has taken so long and isn't even a full chapter. My life has been rather messy for a while and it's starting to calm down. I'm working on part two and hopefully will get it out before the end of the month, a lot is going to happen, thank you for your patients.

Most of the night was spent mesmerized by the stars, but everyone, including Pidge, fell asleep on the blankets laid out by the fire. It was warm and the soft sounds of wildlife was soothing. The long night passed quickly for them all, but as the morning sun rose above the horizon Pidge yawned, stretching as she woke up. She rummaged through her bag beside her, pulling out her hair brush and running it through her hair before she pulled it into a ponytail to hide the fact it hadn’t been washed in a few days. She looked over at the sleeping boys around her and smiled a little, but quickly looked out at the canyon to hide it even if no one could see.

After sitting alone for a while she moved to sit at the edge and before long someone sat down beside her. “It is beautiful in the morning.” Keith said looking out with Pidge.

The woman shrugged, “I’m not really on for nature it messes with my allergies.” She explained, glancing over at him he still looked tired, even after getting sleep, but maybe it was just ingrained into him by now. “So do you smudge your eyeliner everyday?” Pidge asked.

Keith snorted, “It’s not eyeliner, I’m just naturally this tired of your bullshit.” He rolled his eyes and Pidge burst out laughing, Keith only smirked.

“I like you Birker Boy, you have spunk.” She nudged him with her elbow.

A loud thump sounded behind them making the pair turn around. Hunk was picking himself off the ground, his foot tangled in the blanket he was laying on. “Ouch- I uh, heard my name, but I think the universe is telling me I shouldn’t get up…” He groaned, rubbing his head, Pidge had her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing and it seemed the noise woke the other two as well.

“Hunk, you al--alright?” Lance asked yawning in the middle of his words. He blinked sleep from his eyes, stretching out before he actually sat up. He looked tired, but he still smiled out at the sight of where they were once again.

Hunk nodded and got himself untangled from his blanket as Shiro stood and stretched, his back popped. “Oh hell I’m getting too old for this shit…” He muttered.

Pidge quirked her head, “How old are you Shiro?” She asked getting up from the edge to go back to the fire, while Shiro went to his truck to get his coffee pot.

“Thirty-five.” He answered, grabbing the instant coffee and water.

It was now Pidge’s turn to snort from her laugh, “Yeah, you’re so old, and I’m over here twenty-one. I can only now drink.” She chuckled.

Lance sighed fondly, “I remember when I was twenty-one.” He smiled.

Quirking an eyebrow Hunk inquired, “Lance, you can’t be older than me, and I’m only twenty-six.”

“Yeah well, so am I, but five years changes a lot…” He pouted, crossing his arms. He was already comfortable with this crowed, he liked them, he wanted to joke and be extravagant, but he was still a little scared to really be too much, lest they get tired of him and leave him… Lance looked over at Keith, “So, how old are you?” He asked, everyone looked to Keith having been the only one not to share yet.

Keith, looked confused for a moment, he might have stopped counting his birthdays when he was fifteen… How the hell did he forget how old he was? It just seemed irelivent, he’d had the same fake I.D. since he was what? Seventeen? His hair was longer, but that’s all that changed, he passed just fine even now. But at this moment everyone was staring at him strangely and his face was heating up under the looks. “I- uh- well… I don’t actually remember?” He mumbled, pulling at his gloves.

“When were you born?” Shiro asked, not seeming to bothered.

“Uh…” He had to think a moment. “Nineteen eighty-nine.” He said finally.

“Oh, you were born a year before me, you’re twenty-seven, Keith.” Lance laughed. Keith’s face was red from embarrassment as he stared at the ground, “So when is your birthday?” He asked.

_Happy birthday, Keith, make a wish!_

_I wish we had more cake, mamma._

_Anything for the birthday boy…_

____

Keith bit his tongue for a second, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter… I don’t have any reason to celebrate it.” He muttered, his eyes held a heavy sadness to them. No one asked him anything else about it.

____

“So where are we going now?” Shiro asked, breaking the heavy silence that had settled around them.

____

Pidge perked right up at that, “Las Vegas!” She squealed, her hands balled up in excitement. “It shouldn’t take more than a few hours to get there, we can get a hotel room, shower, Keith can was his stinky clothes-”

____

“Hey! I am not the only one who needs to wash my clothes-”

____

“and I can make some killer cash at The Strip!” She finished ignoring Keith’s words completely.

____

“I’ve never been to Vegas,” Shiro mused, but nodded anyway. “Anyone ever been?” He asked.

____

First Keith shook his head and slowly the others followed him in doing so. It would be a new experience for all of them. “But I think that Pidge was right about the whole shower thing…” he sighed reluctantly, admitting defeat. “I don’t know about you guys, but I could really use a shower.” Keith half shrugged.

____

“Yes, showers, good plan.” Hunk agreed with an enthusiastic nod.

____

“I agree, you all stink!” Pidge snickered.

____

Lance rolled his eyes, “And I’m sure you smell like roses too, princess. Shiro lives in a truck, Keith smokes, I have been on the road for almost a week, you have presumably been on the run for at the very least a month. I think Hunk is the only one of us who has showered in the last two days at least.” He said, sarcasm dripped off his tongue, though he wasn’t lying.

____

“Well if we’re all in agreement, I’m sure we can go.” Shiro said.

____

“Wait, hold up, how can we pay for all that?” Keith asked.

____

Pidge smirked, and pulled a shiny gold card from her pocket, “I have an off shore account that we can tap into with this.”

____

“Uhm,” Hunk started as he scratched his head, “Aren’t those trackable?” He asked.

____

Pidge waved him off, “Nah, not mine, trust me.” Hunk and Lance shrugged, but Keith shared a look with Shiro that was less than believing, though the prospect of a hot shower and soft bed was too good to pass over so they said nothing. “Well, let’s go, we should probably grab a map of the area too.” Pidge said, ushering everyone to get their things put away so they could get going.

____

“Pidge I haven’t had any coffee…” Lance whined when the smaller girl easily pushed him to the truck, she then looked quite startled, but said nothing. Lance looked away pretending he hadn’t seen the look of shock and confusion, maybe even pity… It clawed itself up under his skin, but he ignored it. The feeling wasn’t new, and even if it felt like a hot knife to the gut in the way it burned and tore at him he would ignore it.

____

“We can get good coffee there.” She said not missing a beat as she tried to push Shiro even as the man had a good two and a half feet on her. Shiro humored her and walked as she pushed him, looking extremely amused with the young woman.

____

Sighs filled the air, but everyone packed up, Keith pulled out a mostly empty pack of cigarettes and having quick smoke to keep him steady until he gets some coffee and food. Keith got on his bike, looking at the map and making sure he would remember the important places to turn before he headed back to the road, Shiro and the others followed.

____

The drive wasn’t all that long really, not compared to the entire two days of driving to get them this far. No, it was only late afternoon when Keith sped passed the sign welcoming them to “Fabulous Las Vegas” after Pidge had grabbed a map of the area at a rest stop and had Keith pickpocket someone for a phone to set up a reservation at a hotel. A skill he refused to talk about further than offering to do it. Hunk and Lance had both looked at him oddly, but Pidge and Shiro nodded in understanding.

____

“So what’s the place called again?” Lance asked as they made their way through the Strip before the night traffic came in.

____

Pidge sighed looking down at the directions as Keith turned along with the road, “The Cos-mop-oli-tan,” Pidge tried, but ended up completely butchering the word, “of Las Vegas. They have kitchens right in the rooms, big bathrooms, a huge casino, and a pool. But I could only get two beds, because they didn’t have any rooms that were open and close together.” Pidge said in response. “We should be there in just a minute, traffic isn’t too bad right now.” She continued.

____

“Damn, that had to cost an arm and a leg…” Hunk gulped as he eyed her wearily, from both his queasy stomach and his clear disbelief. He wondered where all the money had really come from, it was hard to say, but he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to know what the girl had done to send her running from the feds...

____

The girl shrugged, “It was like two hundred fifty, not that bad. And I only got one night, I’m sure we’ll be back on the road after that.”

____

“You had me at pool! I haven’t been swimming in ages!” Lance exclaimed, he practically purred with excitement. But his sudden excitement was broken when he thought about actually getting into a pool with so many others… His face fell, but he said nothing more on the topic. When Keith pulled over Shiro followed, Keith got off his bike and walked up to Shiro’s window that had been rolled down, exposing all of them to the heavy heat outside the air conditioned car.

____

“Hey Pidge, you said there was Parking.” Keith said, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

____

Pidge nodded, “Yeah, south side, it’s underground parking. Two wheels get free, I already got us a card to have ours paid.” Pidge pulled a class labeled membership card from her pocket.

____

“Where did you get that?” Shiro asked scratching his head.

____

Pidge shrugged, “Let’s just leave that there.” She smirked and everyone thought better than to question her.

____

Within the next few minutes, the group had parked and Pidge had checked them in, getting their room key. After a little walking around on the left side of the third floor they found their room and quickly settled in. Shiro settled into the bed nearest the door, almost melting into it, Hunk on the other hand searching through the kitchen. Pidge, after throwing her bag onto the same bed as shiro, got her credit card and membership card and peaced out to check out the casino.

____

“Hey, I’m going down to do laundry, pamphlet says they have a laundromat here.” Keith said, pulling everything that wasn’t dirty clothes from his bag, which was only his wallet, a knife, and a folded envelope.

____

“Hey could you take my things too?” Lance asked as he walked to the bathroom.

____

“Oh, me too?” Shiro asked sheepishly.

____

“Ditto for me?” Hunk asked.

____

Keith snorted, “Yeah, sure I’m a fucking laundry service. “But since I don’t feel like rifling through Pidge’s things she can do her own damned laundry…” He muttered opening his bag for the others to toss their clothes too.

____

“Thanks man, now I call a shower first!” Lance purred and shut the bathroom door behind him, the water could he hears running soon after, soft humming followed it. Keith left to do the laundry, Hunk was ordering food, and Shiro, Shiro got a well deserved nap.

____

When lance got out of the shower, Hunk took his turn he took considerably less time than Lance, who seemed to need forever to wash his hair. Keith, upon his return with clean clothes had a short shower, coming out with hair plastered to his face and neck, but he smiled brightly.

____

“Man, did I need a hot shower.” He purred, seeming to be a lot less tired once more. Just about then Shiro yawned, the sun setting as he sat up and stretched.

____

“Did I miss anything?” He asked, blurry eyed and still looking half asleep.

____

“Nah, take a shower, dude, Pidge is still down stairs and I doubt she will be up before midnight.” Lance chuckled, the man looked alive again, sitting cross legged on the bed by the balcony, playing on his phone that had been off and in his bag the whole trip. He sent his sister a text, promising he was alright and with friends, but he promptly did not reply to anything she text back, his phone on silent so no one knew she was calling him. Or his mother or father. He was fine, he didn’t need to talk to them now anyway.

____

Shiro nodded and got up, his back didn’t pop when he stretched, “That’s what I missed, beds.” He said to himself as he walked to the bathroom, whistling as he washed his hair. When he stepped out of the bathroom, his white tuft of hair was pushed up on his head away from his face, only one wet lock fell over his forehead. He grinned, “Wow, a hot shower and a nice nap, it doesn’t take much to make a man new again.” He hummed, running a hand through his hair, letting it fall over his forehead again.

____

The four boys settled, waiting for their fifth member to join them, but soon enough, Keith had fallen asleep, Shiro following him. “Hey Hunk?” Lance piped up after a while.

____

“Yeah?”

____

“You want to go swimming with me?” The Cuban asked.

____

“Um, isn’t the pool closed at night?” Hunk raised an eyebrow at Lance who only shrugged, looking a little disappointed, but he said nothing more about it. Hunk just shrugged back and fell asleep not long after that, leaving Lance and alone with his thoughts. He got up after a while and went to the bathroom to put on a pair of shorts and another t-shirt before returning to the room.

____

After sitting bored for another while he got up and shook Keith, “Hey man, get up- eecka-!” Lance let out a squeal as Keith shot out a hand and grabbed his wrist, jerking him over the bed, “fuck- don’t do that!” Lance whisper yelled as loud as he could without waking anyone.

____

Keith blinked up at the man he was holding in a bruising grip for a long moment before he let go in a rush, “Lance? Oh- what the hell?” Keith asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

____

Lance rubbed his wrist, “I want to go swimming.” Lance said quietly from the side of the bed.

____

“You woke me up for that?” Keith groaned shoving his face back into the pillow he had claimed.

____

“But Hunk won’t go with me…” Lance whined pleadingly, looking at Keith with big sad eyes.

____

Keith threw up his middle finger, wanting Lance to leave him alone, he was too tired for this shit. “The pool is closed, dipshit.” He muttered, voice muffled by his pillow. Man did he get rude when he was tired.

____

Lance huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, “You aren’t scared are you?” He asked, smirking slightly as Keith shot right up, getting to his feet and grumbling under his breath about not being afraid of anything as he walked over to his bag to find a pair of shorts he could swim in.

____

“Fine- fine, I’m up, I’m going.” He said as he walked to the bathroom to change. Lance was grinning widely, happy to get his way and after grabbing a few towels and the spare room key the two snuck down to the pool stepping into the warm night, city lights reflecting off the water. Lance sat their towels on a chair and walked over to the water testing it with his foot, finding it to be pleasantly cool, before he stepped back and jumped in. Keith let of a yelp when water splashed up onto him, backing up a bit from the water.

____

Lance surfaced, shaking the water from his eyes, his hair sticking to his head, “Come on, the water feels amazing!” Lance grinned swimming over to the edge, his loose shirt flowing around him in the clear water.

____

Keith hesitated, “I don’t want to get my shirt all wet.” He said lamely.

____

“Just take it off dude.” Lance rolled his eyes.

____

“I don’t want to.”

____

“Then it’s going to get wet, on my god, just get in!” Lance huffed splashing more water up at him. Keith let out a squeak and backed up more, shaking his head as he did so. It was a bit childish, but he had his reasons.

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this ending is abrupt, but I promise I will have more soon and will not leave this work, even if it is not my most popular or will never be well known, I care about this story and want to tell it. Thank you, anyone who reads. It really means a lot to me.


	4. Ch 3 part 2 Adrenaline Rush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly a sharp sound started to build over the night time traffic. A steadily growing wail that brought with it red and blue flashing lights. The two men looked at each other, “Pidge!” they both seemed on the same wavelength as they spoke together and scrambled to their feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is! Chapter three part two! I'm going to start working on chapter four soon and warning a lot is about to happen. Than you, every one who reads, It's really great to see people like this story.

“What are you so afraid of?” Lance asked, his eyes searching. He pulled himself out of the water and sat on the edge.

Keith took a tentative step forward and sighed, “Look… Lance. I don’t think you’re a bad guy, but there are some things I’d rather keep to myself.” He said, toeing off his shoes and sitting by Lance at the edge of the pool. Lance nodded and they sat in silence looking up at all the city lights. It was really peaceful for a while.

Slowly a sharp sound started to build over the night time traffic. A steadily growing wail that brought with it red and blue flashing lights. The two men looked at each other, “Pidge!” they both seemed on the same wavelength as they spoke together and scrambled to their feet. Lance threw on a dry shirt as Keith pulled on his shoes, with a panic they started to the casino.

“Wait!” Lance stopped.

“What?!” Keith growled, glancing back at him.

“I’m going to get Hunk and Shiro, you find Pidge and we’ll get out of here.” Lance said and headed to the closest elevator not waiting for Keith’s response. Keith nodded even after Lance left and slipped into the chaos that was the hotel’s casino. The flashing lights and noises were a little overwhelming, as were all the bodies as he tried to pick the short red head out of the crowd of people.

Keith was starting to get desperate, he’d seen three men in suits and dark glasses already and a few cops, neither of which he wanted to run into looking for Pidge. Really he didn’t know why he was so worried. He just met the woman, she probably lied to them all, and she was a sarcastic little shit, but he knew what it was like to be hunted down and locked away… Whatever Pidge did, she was done with, he could see her guilt, she didn’t deserve a cage. Keith turned, eyes scanning the entrance, maybe he missed her? He took a step back, tripping into someone whose grunt of _‘fuck’_ sounded familiar as they hit the ground. “Pidge!” The violet eyed man exclaimed.

“Keith?” Pidge slipped her glassed back on and scrambled to grab the purse she had dropped. When did she get that? “What are you doing- whoa!”

The girl was cut off as Keith got to his feet and pulled her with him, “No time to talk, we’re getting out of here, now.” He growled under his breath, keeping a tight hold on Pidge and weaving through the crowds to get out of the casino. Keith kept looking around for the men in suits, but it seemed impossible to find them. “Pidg, men in suits, you see them?” He asked.

Pidge’s hold on Keith’s hand was crushing and she looked around with him, “No I don’t- there!” She pointed back to them, coming towards the two trying to get out. 

“Shit-” The older man cursed as he saw one coming through the crowd the way they were heading. He makes a sharp turn into the crowd, away from the entrance, hoping to lose them. It was useless, they kept coming closer, Keith’s heart was pounding and he could feel the sweat on Pidge’s palms. He glanced back at her, terror overshadowing everything in her expression. It was too much, the sounds the people, the fear, Keith felt cornered, it was too much like before. Minus the cramped back alleys and vomit worthy smell of garbage… Keith reached into the pocket of his shorts, pulling out a small pocket knife. He gripped it tightly trying to calm down, this was no time to have a panic attack. Taking a shaky breath he turned to Pidge, “Okay. If this comes down to you or me, I can take these fuckers and you’re sprinting it back to the truck, Lance already got the others and I’m sure they’re waiting for you.” He said.

“But-”

“No fucking ‘but’s, you hightail it out of here, hear me?” Keith opened his knife and Pidge nodded reluctantly. She grabbed keith and hugged him tightly mumbling something into his chest, he stiffened and awkwardly pat her back, “Hey, I’ll be fine, not my first time bringing a knife to a gunfight.” He laughed a bit, pushing her back, “Now g-”

A loud jarring crash and the sound of coins going everywhere sounded before Keith could finish his sentence, “Hasta la bye-bye, motherfuckers!” An extremely familiar voice shouted, the two in the back of the room looked up to be greeted by the sight of Hunk having pushed over a slot machine and pelting coins towards the crowd, causing a much bigger commotion.

They looked to each other then back, suddenly Lance was in front of them, “Come on! Come on! We gotta go now!” He said panting from the adrenaline, the group dashed off towards the entrance, when Hunk saw them he dropped his coins.

“Well… uh… sorry about the inconvenience, everyone, gotta go-” Hunk turned and ran, surprisingly fast for someone his size. Pidge was going as fast as she could and the group of four burst out the hotel’s doors running to where Shiro had parked the truck, and everyone climbed in, Keith was about to follow when Shiro pushed his helmet at him.

“Behind the truck!” He pointed as he started the truck’s engine. Keith nodded and went back to his bike, pulling out in front of the group, Shiro followed.

After they cleared the city limits Pidge took a deep breath, it all happened so fast and now that the adrenalin was wearing off she felt exhausted. Tears dripped off her chin, she put everyone in danger. They just risked everything to get her out of there and she had lied to all of them. They didn’t know a thing about her, but they were willing to face Federal Prison to get her out. “I’m so sorry, this was all my fault…” the young woman cried, covering her face.

“Whoa, whoa, Pidge, calm down it’s okay, don’t worry.” Lance tried to reassure her, setting a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, we’re all fine Pidge, don’t worry.” Hunk said, leaning forward from his seat in the back.

“Katie.” Pidge muttered.

“What?” Lance and Hunk, even Shiro, asked together.

Pidge thought back to the chaos, when she hugged Keith, he didn’t hear her, but she had said, “Katie. My name, it’s Katie Holt.” She wiped her eyes and looked up, staring out the windshield at Keith speeding down the empty highway they were driving on.

Shiro smiled a bit, happy she found her trust in them. “Oh, well, hey Katie.” Lance purred.

“Pidge is fine still, no worries.” She said feeling a weight lift off her chest. A soft silence fell over the group and it was okay. Keith pulled into a little motel parking lot after some time and they all stopped there for the night.

“I can pay for this.” Pidge piped up and reached for that purse she didn’t have before.

“No more cards please…” Hunk whined, but went quiet as she pulled a hundred dollar bill from a roll of them, the purse was full of them. “Where did you get all that money?!” He gasped.

Pidge smirked, “I said I’d win some killer cash. Also I pulled most of the money out of my account.” She explained.

They get out of the car and rent two rooms with two beds, Keith, Hunk, and Lance take one, Shiro and Pidge get the other. Shiro stays in the room with the other boys while Pidge showers and at around one in the morning they all finally get a full night's sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, there is a reason this chapter is kinda fast is the same reason for it's title. I tried something kinda different this. It's styled like the title says, an adrenaline rush. It starts slow, calm, and then worry and fear makes the Adrenaline kick in, things pick up fast, fight or flight going on,(we get a little Keith anxiety for this) then after the big problem is successfully avoided that rush drains you, and you can really process it. This note it a bit late, but I just wanted to be sure it didn't come off rushed due to the last part of this chapter being so long.
> 
> Well I really love you guys, thank you for reading, next chapter should be out soon!


	5. It was Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Guys, I can’t believe we are wanted criminals in the state of Nevada! That was so awesome.” Hunk laughed, their group sitting in a rather small park across the state border in California. None of them were quite ready for any more excitement after the events prior so Hunk suggested they take some time to relax and lay low.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Here it is, on time, finally. This is my Hunk chapter and the poor cinnamon roll deserved a break after all that excitement. So here it is, for my friend Steven who I may or my not have bribed with this chapter to read the story... Well anyway.... Thank everyone who reads, comments and kudos, you inspire me every day!

“Guys, I can’t believe we are wanted criminals in the state of Nevada! That was so awesome.” Hunk laughed, their group sitting in a rather small park across the state border in California. None of them were quite ready for any more excitement after the events prior so Hunk suggested they take some time to relax and lay low.

Pidge snorted, she had formally told Keith what she mumbled against his chest in all the, excitement, the night before and now the whole group was well aware of her birth name, though there were still a lot of things she wasn’t exactly telling them. Like who she had really worked for or who she needed to find to get her father out of prison. “I’m wanted in thirty-six states, get on my level.” She rolled her eyes, smirking. The young woman was starting to really enjoy this crowd whether they knew what she was really doing here or not.

“Does being missing count as being wanted? If so I’m at about four states.” Keith put in, laying out in the grass, watching a few ants carrying crumbs from his sandwich that he had for lunch. He was probably wanted for some petty crimes here and there, stealing food, pickpocketing, street fights, but nothing as big as crashing a casino, breaking an entire slot machine as well as damaging others, the things were huge and definitely worth a fortune, and the part where they are running from the federal law enforcement. Yeah, that’s a little new for him.

“Missing isn’t wanted Keith, but why exactly are you missing?” Shiro asked, quirking an eyebrow at him, having turned back into his seat at the picnic table with Pidge and Hunk. After he had been watching Lance, who seemed perfectly content with his seat on the swings some ways away, smiling as he swung back and forth.

“Don’t like people trying to be something they’re not.” Keith said and left it at that, leaving no room for further explanation on his part. He didn’t take his dark eyes off the little ants marching away with the crumbs.

Hunk was a little confused, but no one wanted to ask given the man’s dark tone, so he stayed silent like the others, only sharing a questioning glance with Pidge and Shiro. “But, guys, I’ve never broken the law once in my life! I was a straight A student, I volunteered, I had summer jobs, I could have been an engineer!” The man exclaimed, “But no,” He rolled his eyes, “I wanted to go to culinary school, I wanted to be a famous chef! Not a criminal...” He sighed and slumped against the table.

The man had been an angel growing up, and excelled in both math and science, he had so many scholarship offers once he graduated he could have gone anywhere. But he turned every one of them down to go to a culinary school. He loved cooking, sure he was good at inventing and building, but it had been more of a hobby to him than anything. His passion was in the art of cooking, travelling new places, experiencing the new tastes and experimenting with them. Building dishes from the ground up, inventing recipes, that’s what he really wanted to do. He had finished culinary school with honors and he wanted to start his own restaurant, but things fell through last minute and he had been stuck in his dead end job for three years. Three long, boring, wasted years, sitting in that diner, far away from his family...

Well, that was over, he had been there for three years, yes, and now he was state hopping with his new group of friends. Breaking the law and chilling out in abandoned parks. Hunk almost laughed, it was so strange to be here, not exactly where he thought he’d be when he imagined leaving the diner. “So how do you tell your parents that their only son is now jobless and travelling with a bunch of strangers, breaking the law and stuff?” Hunk asked, thinking he hadn’t talked to his mom in a while and she’d start worrying about him.

“You don’t, you say, ‘Hey mom, dad, I’m doing good, don’t worry about me, and I’ll be home soon,’ even though you probably won’t be. I was supposed to be at a performance two days ago and I’m sure my parents were told about my absence, but I told my sister to tell them not to worry. I honestly doubt they listened.” Lance said, as he trotted over to the group from the swings, the man plopped himself down on the table and crossed his long legs under each other.

Hunk looked near appalled that Lance would let his parents worry like that, as an only child he was all his aging parents had, and if something happened to him he couldn’t imagine what would happen to them. “Wow, I, I couldn’t stand to have my parents worry about me, I’d feel horrible…” Hunk looked at the table, tracing lines in the wood with his fingers. “I never really thought about that when I thought to uproot my entire life on a whim.” He said, looking troubled suddenly.

He received a comforting hand from Shiro, “Hey, why not just call them, no need to worry anyone, you aren’t in any danger, and you’ve got all of us.” He said with a smile.

“Yeah man, you saved my ass, you bet I’ve got your back.” Pidge said and playfully hit his arm.

“Of course, it was your annoyed waitering that got us here in the first place, together, on an adventure, having fun.” Lance grinned, a sparkle in his eyes. 

_Yeah,_ Hunk thought, _adventure._ He smiled back.

Keith rolled over in the grass, sitting up to look at the others, “Lance, don’t be cliche, this isn’t some cross-country coming-of-age story. Not a silly adventure, real world stuff, with real world problems that adventure books don’t have like, needing to wash your clothes or take a piss.” He said, leaning back on his hands.

Lance huffed, “Sure, Keith, be a party pooper. You can just stay over there with your emo mullet and stupid jacket and cool bike, and we’ll be over here, on an adventure, without you.” He stuck out his tongue.

The older man raised an eyebrow with a playful smirk, “So you think my bike is cool?” He asked, laughing softly.

Lance claimed right up and looked away, a blush painted his tan cheeks as he pouted harder from embarrassment, “That wasn’t the point, dipshit…” He muttered, but the whole situation pulled a few laughs from the others.

And several hours passed just like this, with banter and chatter from each of them. Cloud gazing and simple games like twenty questions went on as well, the group really just relaxing into their time without anything important to do or say, at least for now. As it started to get later they decided they should get something to eat and find a place for the night. After a little searching they came across a little, locally run restaurant, ‘Jasper’s’ which looked good. The five of them entered the establishment, it had a warm atmosphere and smelled like home cooked food. They were seated by a waitress and flipped through their menus.

“I think the, Hades Cream la Vera sounds good.” Pidge purred, looking up at the others for their opinions on her chosen dish consisting of three different noodles and a thick alfredo cheese sauce, topped with parmesan.

Keith shook his head, “Nah, the Scylla Fillet sounds better, baked chicken with three cheese sauce and spicy chilly, sounds great to me.”

“I’m stuck between the Marinated Tartarus and the Hydra Bombe. It all sounds good...” Shiro piped in looking over the food with almost childish glee.

“Gonna have to go with the Minotaur Surprise,” Lance said, closing his menu, “stuffed meatballs man. Can’t go wrong.”

“Anyone else picking up a theme here?” Hunk asked as he squinted at the menu. All these dishes had Greek names, but, none of them were in anyway Greek. It all seemed a little familiar to him actually. “But Chaos on a Plate, no contest. Three meats, two different sauces, with sweet chilli? How can you say no?”

As the group continued to discuss their food choices a young woman, who looked both soft and like she would murder you without hesitation walked over to their table. She wore a standard uniform, and her name tag said, ‘JT’ the woman had soft curves and short brown hair with faded blue towards the ends, her dark brown eyes were framed with blue glasses with thick frames and she stood with a hand on her hip. “Hey, I’m JT, here to take your order as one of our waiters is sick today. What will it be?” She asked.

Hunk stared at the woman, JT, for a long time while the others ordered, thinking he knew her from somewhere. When she got to him and he said what he wanted, she smiled. “Hey Hunk it’s been a while.” JT smirked and walked back to the kitchen.

“You know her?” Pidge asked confused, but intrigued.

After a bit more thought the gears clicked in his head, “Culinary school!” He shouted in his eureka moment, then quickly quieted down as he was shushed, blushing awkwardly. “She was in my class in culinary school… How’d she end up working here?” He asked, out loud, but mostly to himself.

“I don’t just work here, I own Jasper’s.” JT said matter-of-factly, popping up behind them with their food, startling everyone.

“How did you do that?!” Pidge exclaimed, being a little jumpy since the incident at the hotel. The woman just shrugged off the question and put the food down on the table.

“Why name your place Jasper’s if that isn’t even your name?” Hunk asked, though he couldn’t exactly remember what ‘JT’ stood for, he knew it wasn’t Jasper.

JT again shrugged, “For kicks? It’s my restaurant, that I own and run. Where is yours, Hunk?” She asked, smirking like she knew he didn't have a name stake of his own, even as they hadn’t spoken in over three years.

Hunk shrunk a bit in his seat, muttering something and quickly stuffing food into his mouth as not to have to talk about it. JT then left them to eat their food. Each one enjoying their dish and talking over their food, happily. The day had been a generally good one, not as exciting, but comforting to know not everything they do will cause them to risk their lives. After they finished and Pidge paid for the food JT came back over.

“So, I know we lost touch after school and everything with me moving out of state, but I think we should stick a little closer this time.” She purred and handed Hunk a paper with her number on it. “You need anything, give me a ring, I’ll do what I can.” She said and in the next moment she seemed to be gone.

“Everyone saw that right? JT gave me her number and disappeared?” Hunk asked, a little dumbfounded.

Pidge looked up from her purse, “What?” She asked skeptically, Shiro already heading out and Keith talking with Lance by the door.

Hunk sighed, “Nothing…”

The five left after that, getting two rooms once again at a nearby motel, settling for the night. Sleep came easy after the calm day and the lot all finally had an easy rest. It was a rather fitting end to the day that had been so, normal, for all of them.


	6. Fighting Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I want to tell you guys about the Galra.” Shiro looked up at them, his eyes darker with a heavy feeling of repressed anger and sadness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, this chapter is a bit different. It's set through Shiro's memories and, well, it gets dark. Tags have been updated. Don't worry, It will get better. Thank you all, I appreciate everyone of you, Enjoy the story.

“Guys,” Shiro started, settled on the bed, around him, his friends. Hunk and Lance were talking about ordering pizza on the other bed, arguing over whether pineapple was an acceptable topping or not, Pidge, or Katie as he did call her when they were alone, was talking to Keith about, what was it? The existence of aliens? Or Bigfoot? Whatever, they were both lying on the floor, talking about points on how it was statistically impossible for humans to be the only sentient things out there. But when the eldest of the group spoke all eyes turned to him, and the two in the floor sat up to look at him.

Pidge got off the floor and brushed herself off, “Yeah Shiro?” 

The man smiled, “I think it’s time I tell you guys something.” He said, his smile slowly slipped off, and he found himself looking hard at his prosthetic arm, he didn’t think of it often, it brought up bad memories and he would prefer to keep them buried, but, he trusted this group. Shiro never told anyone, not about them, he ran so far from it all he almost didn’t stop.

“Anything.” Hunk said as Pidge sat on the bed and Keith followed her.

“I want to tell you guys about the Galra.” Shiro looked up at them, his eyes darker with a heavy feeling of repressed anger and sadness.

~~~

_“Shirogane, I have a job for you.” An older man at the office said walking over to the young man, with a strong jaw and broad chest as well as bright adventurous eyes, he was young and bright and ready for the field._

_“Yeah boss?” The man asked, he looked so much younger, but it had hardly been ten years. There were no lines around his eyes, or scar on his nose, or white in his hair, but most noticeably he had two arms._

_Shiro followed his boss to his office, their head reporter taking a seat at his desk. “I have some underground work for you, the story of the century. A bust, the most notorious gang in the city. The police are working with us, so you’ll be safe, but you’re our best, so I’m sending you undercover.” His boss was an older man, graying hair and lines around his eyes, but he was a good man and Shiro trusted him._

_“Alright, I’ll do it.” Shiro smiled, determined to get these people stopped. The Galra were the largest gang in the city, known best for their underground fighting rings, the gambling for players enslaved by the people who force them to fight. Of course this was all only rumor, they didn’t know much about the Galra honestly, but the trouble they caused and signed was enough to mean they were well known and needed stopped._

~~~

_“You must be Matt, I’m Takashi, but everyone calls me Shiro.” He held his hand out to the young officer he was working with. The man had fluffy ginger hair and bright eyes framed in big round glasses, he fixed them on his nose and took Shiro’s hand._

_“Yeah, that’s me. I’m excited to work with you, this is my first big case and it was an honor to be chosen out of my division.” The plucky red head said, grinning like a fool. He was an optimistic man, only a few years younger than Shiro, but he was strong and lean and ready to work. Shiro quickly found himself to be very fond of the young man, and Matt seemed very content with him too._

_They made a good team, and were well hidden in their underground arrangement, they had everything they needed, they had seen the fights, they had evidence, they knew the ringleaders, but then they ran into trouble. Someone found them out and they were ratted to the leader of it all._

~~~

_“I swear to god if you hurt him, I’ll-”_

_“You’ll what?” His keeper, Sendak they called him, spit, “Threaten me? Stop fighting? Grovel like the rat you are and beg for your friend’s life?” The man was older, scarred, he seemed to be blind in one eye, but he was still scary. He was big, hard muscled, imposing. Shiro bit his tongue hard, he’d never been so humiliated as he had in the short days he was kept here, locked in a cage fit for a dog, not a full grown man. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. He was in deep now. He could only hope Matt was okay, he sure as hell didn’t need to be in this._

_It was a few days before he was moved to a holding cell, shoved into the floor, into the dirt. “Shiro? Is that you?” Thin hands pulled at his shoulders and he looked up to see Matt squinting at him._

_“Matt? Matt! My god are you alight? Hell did they hurt you? Where are your glasses?” He asked, looking around the cell, they were alone._

_“They took them… Said I won’t need them… In the ring.” He swallowed hard, holding onto Shiro like a lifeline. “Shiro, I don’t want to die in here. I’m scared… My family, my friends, they… they don’t know where I am.” Matt was on the verge of tears. He looked years younger, small and fragile and easily broken._

_“Matt, do you trust me?” He asked, Shiro knew he had to keep Matt from the ring if he wanted the other to get out of this alive._

_Matt looked a little confused at the question, “Of course… With my life.”_

_The scream rang out. They took him away. Shiro let out a sob._

~~~

_Shiro was alone for a long time, the lack of light made the days blend, he could only guess it had been days since he was shoved into this cell. Then he looked up to the sound of footsteps, he squinted to the dark and there was Sendak leaning against his cell. “Has the rat given up?” He asked with mock pity, smirking to himself at the rather sorry state the man was in. Shiro said nothing. “Good, you’re learning. Now get up, we need to be sure you can fight.”_

_Most of his “training” was a blur, but he never had a day where he didn’t hurt. He was pit against fighter after fighter, if he lost he wasn’t fed, if he lost he was beaten, if he lost he lost more than the fight. But as he started to win more fights, he was treated better, he got more food, he got a bed in his cell, they started to stitch him up after bad fights, then he was put in real fights._

_He can remember them all in such vivid detail, he was put up against a man three times bigger than himself. This man was not an amateur and this was not his first fight. The bets were stacked against him, but as he became more attentive, stealing glances to the board, someone was betting for him, in favor of him. Shiro knew he couldn’t afford to lose, if he lost he was dead. The man he was fighting was aiming to kill him, so he had to strike first. Shiro remembered perfectly the dark red blood that spilled out over the floor, the hush of the crowd, the pounding in his head, the shaking in his knees, the pain that shot up his leg as he hit the ground. It was too much._

_He felt a hand on his shoulder, firm and grounding, the only thing that kept him from being sick. He looked up into the eye of Sendak, his keeper, who smirked down at him. “Good job, Shiro… I think you deserve a reward.” His tone made him tremble more._

~~~

_Four years. He fought for four years, for their gambling, their amusement. He was the best, had the most wins, the strongest, undefeated. He was praised and treated well, he started to get used to it. After a fight he would be taken to his room, Sendak would stitch him up, run him a bath, get him food. He was, favored… The older man was, fond of him, too fond of him. But it was useful. No one messed with him, if he was in the ring not a soul bet against him, He’d seen men throw their fights, break their bones, take the beatings rather than be put in the ring with him. It was a dark time for him… Shiro did as told, did not speak before he was spoken too, took what was given to him, and did not complain. He did not cry, he did not think, he did not feel._

_It was sick, fucked up, disgusting, but he felt safest with his keeper. He didn’t like to be away from Sendak long and he didn’t like when he heard people speak ill of him, he had started many fights over words other spoke._

_Then it happened._

_He was in the ring, he was doing fine, the younger man was becoming desperate, trying to get away from him. He thought he had him, and then hot white pain. He looked over and saw the ragged cut, blood everywhere, he looked back at the man and collapsed. He saw blurry stills as he was moved, muffled voices, “We need to remove the arm,” “Like hell I’d let you try, he’s mine,” “He is going to die-” then empty black for a long long time._

_Shiro woke up in a dark room, he thought his arm should hurt, but he couldn’t feel it. Looking down he let out a scream, it was gone… He was left alone for several days, again he felt a pull of hunger, the yearning for his keeper, and in this time, he realised how wrong it all was. How used and abused and manipulated and broken he felt. How alone he was. For the first time in years he found himself missing Matt._

~~~

_It was a week later that someone came for him, it was chaos outside the door and a man broke in and laid eyes on him, “We’ve got another one!” He shouted and moved on. Two more people came and pulled him out, he was lead upstairs and up and up and up, through an abandoned building to an ambulance outside. He saw police and cop cars and more ambulances. Briefly he thought he saw the leader, Zarkon, being shoved into a cop car. He looked around wildly, his mind screaming for him to yell for Sendak, the safety he knew with him, but instead, “Matt? Matt? Have you seen a Matt Holt? Please he was taken with me, I need to find him!”_

~~~

_They didn’t find Matt… He assumed he died or was taken elsewhere. Shiro felt a pang of hurt and loss at this. He was kept in a hospital for a while. Put on medication to help him sleep. Put into therapy for his trauma. Shiro learned that Sendak was sent to prison along with all the other big contenders in the fights. He felt a pang there too, but this one made him sick. It was another year before they let him go, he had a new prosthetic hand, his car was returned to him, he had all his saving drawn and then, he left. He didn’t want the pain. Didn’t want the memories the city had for him. He wanted out. So he drove. Got off the grid, learned to live alone, be alone and be content. He picked up a few night jobs in his travel, but never settled. Then he found his way to a diner in the middle of nowhere._

~~~

They were all silent for a long time, Pidge was crying. “Matt Holt…?” She asked, trembling, “Short ginger hair, big round glasses, and freckles? Did, did he have a scar, on his ear? Looked like it was split?” She asked.

Shiro sobered up a lot with that, “Yeah… Pidge… Are you?”

“His sister… Oh my god… Matt.” The young woman let out a sob, Hunk had his arms around her, letting her cry. Lance looked lost and Keith looked like had something to say, but he was quiet.

“Katie…” Shiro murmured and hugged her too, he missed Matt, but it couldn’t be as bad as how Katie missed Matt. They were quiet for a while, all of them, but slowly, Shiro smiled, albeit, a bit bitterly. “I’m glad to get that all off my chest.” He murmured.

“I’m glad you told us, Shiro. That must have been really hard for you.” Lance laid a hand on the older man’s shoulder. They all agree and slowly the heavy feeling in the air dissipates. “It’s getting close to lunch, you know, we should go out instead of eating in.” He said and smiled.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Shiro smiled, and it was real.


	7. Why It's Important

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance looked up to see Hunk looking down at him with a concerned expression, “Didn’t you wake Keith up in the middle of the night just to go swimming, why not go swimming with everyone now?” He asked gently as he took a seat next to Lance on his towel in the sand.
> 
> The man in question shrugged, “Well I guess I’m not really feeling it today…” He muttered out the half hearted excuse, playing with his sleeves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, and here is some new Lance content, hopefully it's not so dark, but there will be discussion of eating disorders caused by depression. Since I don't have any personal knowledge on the subject of eating disorders, I have done some research, but please, if I get something wrong tell me, I'd hate to misrepresent something so serious.

It had been a few days and everything had settled down again when the idea had been brought up to go to the beach. Lance used to love the beach, his family had vacationed around a lot of beaches when he was a kid, but he found himself dreading the possibility of getting into the water. Swimming in Vegas hadn’t been bad, it was dark, Keith was too busy not wanting to swim to notice the way his shirt clung to his visible ribs under thin skin. But, it would be day time at the beach, they would all be there, looking at him, wearing another long sleeved shirt in ninety degree weather. Lance wanted to say no, but he couldn’t.

Lance sighed, hugging his knees to his chest, sitting on his towel under the umbrella. It was really hot, and the water looked inviting, but the Cuban male just sat watching the others splash around in the shallow waves, probably looking a little miserable. “Hey Lance, you okay?” Lance looked up to see Hunk looking down at him with a concerned expression, “Didn’t you wake Keith up in the middle of the night just to go swimming, why not go swimming with everyone now?” He asked gently as he took a seat next to Lance on his towel in the sand.

The man in question shrugged, “Well I guess I’m not really feeling it today…” He muttered out the half hearted excuse, playing with his sleeves.

Hunk frowned, “You know, I don’t know you all that well, but I think it’s about time we got to know each other,” he looked over at everyone in the water, “how about we go to the snack shack down the beach, I think they have some air conditioning in there.” He smiled as he offered Lance a hand up. Lance smiled and accepted his hand, letting the other pull him to his feet, then he started walking towards the little snack ice cream place a bit down the way.

Once they got there they find a little table around the back of the seating area, Hunk pursed his lips, “Nachos?” He asked only to get a shrug in return, the other man sighed, but got up and went to the counter to order the food. He came back with a big basket of nachos and sat down, “So, I know we haven’t talked much in the days we’ve been out here, but I’d like to help you out. You’re with friends here, it’s okay to talk to us. Any of us. And if someone a little less personal would help, I’m not going to judge you.” Hunk said as he leaned back in his chair, offering the other a warm smile.

Lance squirmed slightly, pulling at the sleeves of his shirt, he was glad that the other was reaching out to him, but… he wasn’t sure he could tell him, not really, not everything, not when he was looking at him like that. Lance bit his lip, “I’m fine…” He mumbled, looking down.

Hunk looked skeptical, but didn’t push anymore, “Okay, but you should eat, you hardly picked at your breakfast, you’ve got to be hungry.” He pushed the basket over to Lance who just pushed it back with a shake of his head. “Oh no, don’t you tell me you aren’t hungry, I’ve hardly seen you eat a thing since we met… Come on Lance, it’s really not good for you.” The other man insisted and pushed the food back.

The Cuban stared at the basket of nachos and felt a little queasy, it had been a while since he ate, but he didn’t really feel… well, that would be a lie, he did feel the tell tale clawing at his insides telling him he needed to eat, but he didn’t want to. What was the point? Nothing would change if he started eating again, he wouldn’t feel any better. He’d still lay awake at night wondering when they were just going to leave without him, drop him off, kick him out of the group. He wasn’t really like them, he didn’t fit in, maybe they would be better if they just stopped caring. The thought haunted him, Lance could feel it deep in his bones, the emptiness that clung to him, eating wouldn’t fill it, so why eat at all?

“I don’t want to.” Lance said quietly.

“Why?”

“You really want to know?” He quirked an eyebrow, unbelieving.

“Maybe,” Hunk started tentatively, “I could help you.”

Lance looked skeptical, but didn’t have the energy to really argue with him. “I don’t really think so, but sure…” He sighed. “I was diagnosed with clinical depression when I was thirteen… It was never that bad when I was younger. I had people to push me, to check up on me, I had dancing to keep me moving. I loved it, it was my passion and the only thing I really had to fall back on. When things got dark for me, I had my music and I had a stage. But after high school, I was lost. I drifted for a while, not literally, but, um,” Lance rubbed the back of his head, staring hard at the napkin holder, “... figuratively... My doctors had to keep switching my medication, it made me suicidal. So I just stopped taking it, after the fourth or fifth time the meds started screwing with me...” 

~~~

_A teenaged boy sat on a messy bed, the room around him was painted blue, posters of musicals hung up on the walls, stars hung up on the ceiling. He sat there, shaky hands wrapped around an empty pill bottle. This had been his third switch and he was getting tired of it… He was tired all day be he couldn’t sleep, he felt sick, it gave him headaches, but he didn’t feel better. Lance wasn’t sure what better felt like. He wanted to not be tired, he wanted to be able to go out and be with friends and convince himself they hadn’t just abandoned him. It was the depression talking. But it was getting harder and harder to believe the less and less he talked to them all._

~~~

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose, he wasn’t quite sure where he was taking all this. He looked up as Hunk gave him a nudge, “When did you start having trouble eating?” He asked gently. Well that helped a bit…

“Uh… well, it wasn’t really a clear or sudden thing I guess.” He started, glad Hunk was being easy with him. “I remember skipping dinner a few nights a week during school and sometimes I wouldn’t eat lunch, sometimes I’d grab a granola bar and I wouldn’t eat anything else. I picked at my plates at lot, and eventually people just stopped noticing. It's not like I wasn't hungry… Part of me said I had to eat, people worried about me, if I lose too much weight I'll have problems with dance. That… That helped. I made myself eat at least once a day during high school, but sometimes I just couldn't make myself do anything. Not get out of bed, not shower, not change my clothes, not eat. And it sucked, it did, I knew there was a problem, but couldn't find it in me to do anything about it… I guess it was just habit after a while…”

~~~

_Lance was in bed, it was Sunday, it was getting close to midnight, he had school in the morning. But he couldn't shut his eyes. He just couldn't, they burned, stinging from dryness, staring at the same spot of ceiling as he had been for what felt like hours. The teen was hungry, but he couldn't make himself get out of bed. Just like he couldn't make himself shut his eyes. He was so tired, he'd barely slept in three days, but still nothing. It was just numb, he felt so numb to it all, he couldn’t think or process, just lay there and stare. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but he jolted awake sometime later, head fuzzy and vision swimming. He panted a bit, confused on when exactly he shut his eyes or fell asleep, he looked over at his clock, flashing that it was one thirty AM. He didn’t have the energy or will to even groan._

~~~

Hunk reached out, “Habits can be broken, if you’re willing to take the time.” He said, resting his hand on Lance’s shoulder. Lance looked up at him, something sort of sparked behind his eyes, some sparkle of life. “If you’re willing to let me help, I’d be more than happy to work through this with you. We all would, I’m sure, we can be that support, that push, those people to check up on you… It’s not too late. You’re here with us for a reason, and it’s time to stop running.” Hunk sounded so sure of this, so positive that the reason Lance was there was because these people could help. Lance knew it wouldn’t be like magic, but for the first time in a while he was feeling hopeful. He could feel a spark of life inside himself, he hardly knew Hunk and he still cared. They were all bound by this trust, saving Pidge, Shiro’s history with the Galra, and now he was confining in Hunk, and he’ll confined in the others too. This was a good start.

Lance smiled.

~~~

_A little boy sat out in a field, his small hands twisting together grass blades and flower stems, weaving them into crowns. Pretty blue blossoms and bright yellow petals breaking the green of the base weave. He was already wearing a crown he made, the blue flowers his favorite. An older girl walked over when he finished the blue and yellow crown, “That is a very pretty crown you made, Lancey.” She said, sitting by him and ruffling his hair. Lance grinned proudly, giving it to her, though he didn’t quite remember what he said._

_A slightly older Lance sat on a blanket in the backyard, pointing up at the night sky, “What’s that constellation?” and “Is that a constellation?” and “What about that one?” Leaving his lips with each point, to which he’d get an answer from his father beside him. “That’s a big ice cream cone.” The man said, “Well why sure it is, can’t you see it?” He laughed and got eagar nodding in response before he’d give a name to the next random cluster of stars the young boy pointed at with chuckles and warmth._

_Lance’s heart was pounding rapidly, fidgeting with his little soldier costume. His first big performance and all his family was waiting in the crowd to see him in a big lead role. He was playing the Nutcracker, his role was one of the most important, but the second he was on stage he felt that anxiety melt off. He knew every step, he had practiced for so long. He quickly lost himself in the music and the dancing, before he knew it the curtain fell for the final time and he was so tired. A good tired…_

_A new teen was sitting on the kitchen counter, talking on and on about something or another as Lance half danced around the kitchen to make lunch for his younger brother and himself. “Lance, I wanna be like you, you’re so great and you getta dance on stage with a bunch of girls in tights.” His brother said and it made Lance laugh._

_“Nah, I’d hate to have another me running around, I think you make a fantastic you as it is, why change?” He asked with a smirk._

_His young brother smiled really big, “Well I think that’s a good point, Lance. I’ll probably do that, because I don’t know how to dance at all.” He laughed._

_Lance picked him off the counter, “Here, let me show you a few steps.” He said and spent the rest of the afternoon teaching his young brother the basic steps for Ballet, his sister joined them at some point but he wasn’t sure when exactly. Eventually the whole family was sitting in the living room watching Lance teach his siblings an easy dance, step by step. It was fun, it was what he wanted everything to stay like, forever…_

~~~

“That sounds like a good idea.” Lance almost felt a weight leave him as Hunk dragged him up off the chair.

“Well then, first things first, I’m taking you to the store and we’re getting some real food into you, after I make it of course. Then, we can go tell the others, tonight, we’re camping again.” Hunk said and started off, pulling Lance along and completely forgetting the nachos. But still Lance smiled, it wouldn’t get better over night, but he could still get better. He’d have the best friends to be there for him.


	8. Runaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was warm that day, they were going to the park, or to get ice cream, or something trivial like that. The next thing he remembered was the impact. Someone ran a red light. They hit the left side of the car way too fast. It was hard to remember things after that, his head having hit the window on his door hard, the noise left his ears ringing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, me again, another chapter, and this one has some heavy Keith backstory. Next one is Pidge, and boy she's gonna be a handful. Sorry it took so long, I would promise the next one soon, but well, I'm not very good at that.... Anyway, I hope you all like it!

Keith realized pretty quickly that he wasn't like the others, when he had secrets he buried them so deeply they’d never see the light of day again if he could help it. But it seemed everyone here was out to break him, because everyone spilled their guts almost every other day. Pidge admitted to her fake name, like Keith knew it was to begin with, her real hiro flat out gave his entire life story of torture and fighting by the Galra and… whatever it was Sendak did to him. Keith would’ve scoffed at himself, he knew, they all knew, but it was better left unsaid. He wasn’t too sure Hunk actually counted, he didn’t have a troubled past, just missed opportunities, but Keith supposed those haunted you too. Now, Keith had his suspicions about Lance from the first day, too thin, never seemed to eat, never was hungry, never seemed alive but in passing moments. Of course he didn’t know how long he had struggled with these problems, or how many times they tried to medicate him without it helping, or how he knew he was struggling, but couldn’t seem to find it in him to help himself on his own. Keith had his demons, his own sob story, sure, but he wasn’t one to spill his guts everywhere, he was happy that his friends, could he really call the friends? He wasn’t sure, but he was glad they were trying to help themselves even in little ways. Keith didn’t need help, he’d been fine on his own this long, he didn’t need anyone to help him...

Keith sighed as he stared up at the motel ceiling. It was late, but he couldn’t stop thinking about all the noise outside, and inside with Hunk snoring on the other bed. To say Keith was comfortable in the big cities of the west coast, they were heading towards San Francisco, was both true and not at the same time. He had lived city streets since he was nine, they labeled him a run away since he wasn’t technically homeless, he’d had a few foster families over the years, they had all been pretty nice actually, but he couldn’t stand it. He wanted to go home. Every fiber of his being just wanted to go home, but he knew home was not waiting for him anywhere. Home died in a car crash when he was eight, sometimes his ears still ring because of it. The memories were faded now, he only saw pieces, flashes of it as it happened.

_It was warm that day, they were going to the park, or to get ice cream, or something trivial like that. The next thing he remembered was the impact. Someone ran a red light. They hit the left side of the car way too fast. It was hard to remember things after that, his head having hit the window on his door hard, the noise left his ears ringing. He saw his mother for only a moment, and it was bloody. The next thing he knew he was taken out of the car, taken to the hospital. He remembered crying, a lot, a nice nurse asked him if he had any other family, and as far as Keith knew he only had his mom and dad. He overheard the nice nurse talking to a doctor, something about surgery, something about child services. He didn’t see his parents again after that…._

Keith was put into foster care after that, and the first person who to care of him was actually the really nice nurse, her names was Amy or Anne or something like that. Don’t get him wrong, she was nice, he got a room in her house, she had a little girl who was a little younger than Keith, Danni or Dasie or something, and she’d give him her stuffed animals to sleep with. He always had food and the nurse always treated him with care and never pushed him when he was upset, but he couldn’t bear to stay. He wanted to go home. So he ran away, shoved as much as he could into a bag and headed in the direction of home. He never made it there as the next day an officer took him right back to the the nurse’s house. She wasn’t upset with him, but she worried, her daughter gave him more stuffed animals, a little dog he held onto for years after he left there. He bounced around for a while after that, his papers stamped with ‘problematic’ because he kept running away. He learned fast to take food and water bottles and all the money he could find, hit the streets fast and hard and don’t stop all night no matter what. Most of the time they still found him within a few days. Most of the time they got rid of him after he stole their money and ran away. They shipped him from state to state, but he didn’t care how nice the house was, or how much the adults wanted to get to know him, or cared about him. They weren’t his parents, they were fake, they were liars, if they cared they’d let him go home. 

Sunlight bathed the room, the smell of coffee hanging over him, quiet chatter, these things slowly woke Keith up. He was a little startled, as he didn’t remember falling asleep, and he usually got up first anyway. Shiro glanced over at him, from his seat on the other bed with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, he smiled, “Coffee?” He asked, nodding to the pot that rested on the the little place set up for it by the tv stand. The raven haired man groaned loudly, dragging himself out of the bed and over to the coffee, getting a cup and filling it almost past the brim. He was really out of it it seemed, his head flooded with muddled memories and flashes he could hardly grasp. “How did you sleep? It was pretty long, it’s almost eleven.” Shiro hummed a bit, eating a bowl of oats, given the other paper bowls around the desk area the others already ate, even Lance it seemed.

“It was actually pretty shitty…” Keith sighed, drinking his coffee quietly, his head too muddled to do much more than that as he tried to sort out his own mind and emotions. He still hadn’t talked much as the others got ready to leave, Keith showered last, packed first, and they made their way out onto the highway. It was easier for Keith to think out here, feeling the wind around him, just staying close to Shiro’s truck, not having to talk or do, just ride. It was freedom, a feeling of ‘home’ he had felt very rarely in so long… But lately he’d been feeling that warm feeling in his chest, when Pidge would go off on a rant about something she felt strongly about, when Hunk got the chance to cook, when Shiro relaxed to the point he shut his eyes and just listened to everyone, when Lance started laughing too hard at something stupid. Keith knew he was getting attached to these people, still he was hesitant to accept this, fearing they too could be taken from him.

Yes he was glad to have the chance to think out here, but he found his mind wondering… They had already gotten close to losing one of their little group, and with everything they had all gone through individually what if they started to pull away… What was going to happen when their time together was over? Keith wasn’t sure he wanted to be alone again, sure he wasn’t positive if he liked even being with people now, but he was already attached to these people, and he didn’t want to be without the assurance he can sleep at night or the feeling of sitting at a crowded table as everyone chatted and swapped food. It was, strange how he had come to like all of this. Still the second they break apart Keith will be nothing but alone all over. It made his stomach twist and his chest tight, a feeling he had not expected, not from these people. Not from most wanted Pidge, or Mr. Sunshine Hunk, or quiet Shiro, or never seen the Grand Canyon Lance… Not knowing what else to do he shoved the feeling down as far as possible and just kept driving.

So San Francisco is like a lot a big cities, it’s big, it’s loud, it’s crowded, but it’s got one of those feelings attached to it. Maybe it’s just for dreamers, or artsy people, or hipster blogs, but that’s not the same feeling that wedged into Keith’s chest as he absently looked around the streets when traffic stuck. On one hand, Keith knew he’d never been in this city in his life, on the other, that one alley looked like it could be familiar, that one old building had a similar design to one he knew, rust on fire escapes, a ratty alley cat, everything had that feeling. It made him hate cities half the time, he could swallow city parks and places where everything wasn’t tightly packed, but sometimes it just made his skin crawl.

Don’t move. Don’t breathe. _It’s pouring rain, his clothes are soaked through and he’s trying his best not to shiver. The child is holding his breath, the flashing red and white lights at the other end of the alley have his back pressed so hard into the brick wall behind him it hurts. A worn out backpack was was clutched tight in his left hand, a small pocket knife held so tightly his knuckles were white in his right hand._ One wrong move and they'll take me and lock me up again... _His heart was hammering as he took a slow breath, the alley smelled bad, but oh well. It was better to him than them. He waited, it felt like hours, freezing cold down to his bones, fear pumping adrenaline into his veins, his hands tense and cramping, but he didn't dare relax. Finally, they left, and Keith felt his body slump against the wall. He didn't move the rest of the night._

Sometimes someone would give him food, or few dollars, or a blanket. But Keith knew not to expect these things, he often gave them to the other kids anyway, the younger ones, the ones with families struggling without help, the ones who deserved the money or the food or just the smallest of comforts he could offer. He could get his own things anyway he didn’t need help. It was easier as he got older to just travel, he found friends in some sketchy places and got himself some unofficial identification, he learned things, picked up odd jobs when he could, got himself a second hand bike, fixed it himself, got out of the cities just to go back to them. He got good at things, pickpocketing, shoplifting, sleeping in weird places, auto repair, picking up pennies. Eventually people stopped looking for him, still the anxiety never left. It’s one of the reasons he skipped on the tour of Alcatraz, just waiting for the others to get back.

“Hey… guys?” The group was sitting in a parking lot of an ice cream shop eating lunch. Keith had been staring at his vanilla so long it started melting off the cone.

Pidge raised an eyebrow at him as the ice cream dripped onto his hand, then looked up at his face, “Yeah, Keith?”

The dark eyed man sighed, “I wasn’t going to say it. I really didn’t want to, but I can’t stop thinking about it all and I just…” Keith was staring at his ice cream as if maybe he could just make it stop existing with his glare.

_“And what kind of ice cream do you want?”_

_“The kind with sprinkles.”_

_“You can have sprinkles, but what kind of ice cream? Vanilla is my favorite.”_

_“I want vanilla! With sprinkles!”_

Everyone was staring at Keith, concern and confusion clear. Keith took a deep breath and everything came out of his throat in a rush, “My parents are dead and I’ve been a run away all my life so it makes it really hard for me to accept that I’ve come to really want to spend my time with all of you and not feel like I need to drop off and leave as fast as possible.” He took in a gasp of air, his face flushed lightly. But he was determined, "I’ve got a lot to tell you guys… about me.”

Shiro smiled a little, “We’re here to listen, Keith, whatever you feel comfortable with is enough. That was… a lot already and I’ve sure that was hard for you, but you trusted us with that and that means a lot.” He said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Lance held out a napkin, “Yeah Keith, we’re here for you.” Nods of agreement came from Pidge and Hunk as Keith wiped his hand off. A weight having lifted from his chest. He smiled at them all.


	9. Auxilio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro turned, spotting Pidge fiddling with her jacket sleeves. “Hey, Katie, you need something?” He asked, a soft smile on his lips. He looked happy.
> 
> “Can we talk?” The woman looked down at her sleeves then back up at Shiro, feeling a little small.
> 
> “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, in the wake of season six I have managed to finish this chapter, yay! The next chapter should be started soon if I can keep this motivation, so wish me luck.  
> Anyway, enjoy the new chapter!

Washington was a last minute decision. Pidge wanted to see The Space Needle in Seattle, and it was one of the few states she wasn't wanted in, so the little group was heading north. It was just more fun really, places to go and things to see, it was their adventure. Pidge had a lot of adventures in her time, but this was more than just her, a laptop, and a secure WiFi connection. This was the closest thing to family she'd had since her father was imprisoned and her brother was lost to the cruelty of human scum. The young woman loved learning more about her new friends, but still she kept her life a secret… It was her business, if Lance wanted to admit to his depression, and Hunk wanted to admit his lost opportunities, and Keith wanted to admit his parents were dead that's their business. But Shiro… Pidge would admit she wanted to tell Shiro. He knew Matt, her brother, and he had done his best to protect him. Matt who always told her to do the right thing. Matt who had been the person driving her to complete college courses while she was still in high school. Matt who had been her inspiration to do more and help people. When he was gone, really gone, everything fell apart.

The air was cooler in Washington, it was still summer hot, but it wasn't nearly the one hundred degree heat from their last stop. Pidge watched the others, Shiro was quiet, but engageable, Lance talked more now, he seemed happier, Hunk was a ray of sun, always trying to find fun, and healthy, foods to make while they were on the road sides settled for a night, and Keith was opening up to them. It was a really good thing he was doing, it was healthy to express these feelings he was having and have actual relationships with people. It was healthy for all of them to support each other, and it feels better to have it. Pidge feels safer having them, she feels like everything will be okay, personal mission aside, she was happy to be with this misfit group. They made her feel like she could be herself, like she didn't need to hide.

It was these feelings that brought her outside the little motel they had stopped at for the night, to where Shiro was sorting a few things in the back of his truck. He turned, spotting Pidge fiddling with her jacket sleeves. “Hey, Katie, you need something?” He asked, a soft smile on his lips. He looked happy.

“Can we talk?” The woman looked down at her sleeves then back up at Shiro, feeling a little small.

“Of course.” He sat down on the open back of his truck bed door and patted the spot beside him. Pidge climbed up and sat in that spot, looking over to where the sun was dipping under the horizon.

She bit her lip, worrying over asking anything, but she knew Shiro was the one she could confide in. “What did you think of Matt?” Pidge asks quietly. Her heart ached, still so many years later, a part of her would always want to think he was alive, they never found a body. But it was unrealistic, if he was alive he would have come home. Matt couldn't leave her like that, and if he couldn't come home he'd let her know he was alive. But he never did.

Shiro smiled, but it was bitter sweet. “I thought Matt was… amazingly strong. He was smart too, and sweet. He was so very sweet.” Pidge looked over at the older man, his face tinted pink, his eyes up at the sky. “He was going to change the world. I knew it. I tried so hard to be sure he could…” Shiro trailed off.

Pidge furrows her brows, “Did… did you like him?”

Shiro blushes, ducking his head down in embarrassment. “Like I said, he was a really sweet guy… You learn a lot about a person when they're the only person you can talk to for months on end. We were close in that time… but I don't think, I doubt he’d have liked me back. He didn't seem like the type.” Shiro shrugged a bit, feeling a little awkward to talk to Matt’s little sister, though she was a grown woman now, about his small, little, tiny crush on him when they had been working together all those years ago. “But I have a feeling you didn't come out to talk to me about my crush on Matt, so what's really bothering you?” He prompted her, giving the woman a nudge to talk.

Pidge couldn't help but smile a little, Matt was a sweet guy, but she'd have never thought Shiro was one to go for that. Guess you can't judge a book by it's cover and all that. But her smile slowly fell as he asked what was really on her mind. She sighed, “I… have been thinking about how everyone is coming clean about their pasts.. and I want to too, but I'm not ready to tell them. They won't understand. They didn't know Matt, but you did… so, I want to tell you what I've done.” Pidge felt a little bit of the weight lift off her chest. Shiro put a hand on her shoulder, assuring her. “It started when I was a kid.”

\---

_Pidge, fourteen, short ginger hair and big glasses like her brothers on her face, sat on her bed in the dark. The corner of her room lit by her computer screen, her laptop was hooked up to a few other processors and an external hard drive. The young girl was digging into secure company files. It was a tax scandal, all over the news, but guess who wasn't going to pay a dime? The company's managers, so Pidge was determined to fix that. It took hours, and the sun was creeping up by the time she was rerouting money from them to hundreds of different places, charities, other countries, people who need it, and a little right into a place she knew it would be safe. The teen sighed, pulling out of the company now, careful to put everything back the way it was, accept for the money, though she corrected the numbers to match what she had taken out. Once she was done she turned off her laptop. Pushing all her home build processors under her bed along with the extra drive, and snuck into the kitchen for coffee._

\---

_Pidge was seventeen, making a name for herself as a hacker, a good guy hacker, a Robinhood taking from the rich and giving to the poor. People who didn't know her hated her, people who didn't know her loved her. People on the dark web envied her, and people of power wanted to buy her. But she worked for herself and only herself, she was doing good, and Matt was so proud of her. Of course she told Matt, Matt did nothing but encourage her, if not nudge her to be careful, and she promises she always was. Until Matt left. Matt promised it was just a routine mission, in out, just a job and he's be back in a week tops. But, he didn't come back. He didn't contact her, the police were telling her nothing, nothing, nothing. She was going crazy._

\---

_A few months pass and Pidge is in a dark office, thumb drive tacked into a computer, copying file after file on what was dubbed, ‘The Galra Mission’ that's where Matt had gone. She learned there was another man who had gone undercover as well, but she had only skimmed the name. It was Matt she wanted to find. Hearing voices in the hall the girl shoved as many files as she could onto her flash drive, closed everything, and booked it out the open window. She clung to the third story ledge for a long time before she got the courage to climb back down._

_It was a few days later, she was going through the information when police broke in, she had run down stairs to see what was happening, too much shouting and noise to really tell. When she tried to get any answers she saw her father being dragged out of the house. “What are you doing!? What's going on!?” She shouting over the noise, trying to push past to her father, only to have a warrant shoved in her face as she was held back by the arm._

_“Look, kid, your father is charged with stealing private police intel. Just go back to your room kid, you don't want to be in trouble too.”_

_She had frozen in place, eyes wide, no, no, no! They couldn't take him, it was her, she did it! “Stop it! Let go of me! My dad didn't do anything!” She snarled trying to get out of the older man's hold. “This isn't fair, let me go! Let me go!” How could it come to this? Simple carelessness? Matt told her to be careful… She wasn't careful enough._

\---

_Pidge was twenty, living on her own, she didn't want to leave her mother all alone, but she had a mission and she couldn't risk putting her in danger too. It was late, and she had been talking back and forth with a man who said he had information that could help her, he called himself_ Auxilio, _it was a form of_ ‘help’ _in Latin.It had been three years. Three years her father was in prison because of her actions. Because she was careless, she left a trace. And instead if tracing it to her, they traced it to him. The only way to salvage this was to prove they had covered up the failure of the mission, but it was harder than anticipated. And her work started to keep her from it, she started hacking for hire, she needed the money. No more good guy hacker, only doing what she had to to get by. Matt would be disappointed…_

_The man she was talking to gave her the information she needed, information of the Galra. Information she could use to expose them. Turns out, a lot of powerful people had their hand in the money pool, the slave trade, and the fighting. It was disgusting. But it was good to know, she tracked missing persons reports and deaths, cross referencing them with the names of fighters she was given by her snitch, she had too many matches to feel comforted._

_She kept in contact with the man for another year before she got a solid location, and tipped the police. This was bigger than her hacking would allow her to do on her own. It was only days later the news lit up with the bust. Matt was not among the people found. She lost hope after that…_

\---

_Another year and Pidge found herself in a little trouble. And by a little she meant a lot. The FBI managed to track her down, well one of her aliases, but it was too close for comfort, and she knew she needed to move. She took her equipment and worked on the road for a time before she shut it all down and stashed her things, hitting the road hard. Always undercover, always being followed, always hiding, always running… this lasted months before she found a little old diner, in the middle of nowhere, and found something she surely missed. Family._

\---

Pidge looked up at Shiro, “And now… I'm here. I didn't know it at the time, but I'm glad I could help you. I'm glad we helped each other. I'm glad I'm here with you all, even if I'm still just looking for answers that I can't find…” The woman smiled a little. She'd have never known that it was her exposing the Galra that set Shiro free and she'd never have known that Shiro was the one to protect her brother when no one else could.

He looked at the young woman, “Well, I guess I should say thanks.” He smiled a little, but it was sad. Though his eyebrows knit together in thought a moment later, “What did you say this guy called himself?” Shiro asked.

“Uh, Auxilio. A-U-X-I-L-I-O. It's Latin, for help, assist, give help, be helpful, remedy, heal. I had to translate it when I first read it. I still don't think I can pronounce it right.” She shrugged a bit. “Why, you ask?” 

“Oh-ehx-ee-oh…. That's how it's said.” Shiro murmured, looking down, still thinking, what were the odds? Could it really be?

“How do you know?”

Shiro swallowed, “It was a code that was passed around prisoner's, back when I was with the Galra, it meant we knew a way to help each other. And it was a way to recognize allies. I only learned it in passing, I never used it. But… maybe…” his voice trailed off.

“Maybe, Matt would have used it?” Pidge looked up at Shiro, her eyes wide, the pain of loss was clear and it was known she couldn't wish to hope any longer, but maybe, just maybe… and even if it wasn't Matt, though… who else would know to contact her? Who else would know she could help? If it wasn't, they might have known him, they might have information on what happened to him.

“If he was in the trade he might have gotten out. He might… He might still be alive. He could, there's a chance.” Shiro looked teary eyed, it was a long shot, but it was a chance. Both of them had new hope, if only just a glimmer.

Pidge wrapped her arms around Shiro, “I'm so glad I told you.”


	10. I Thought You'd Never Ask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, you're telling me, that you stopped hundreds of tax scams, got your father arrested, got Shiro rescued, have been documented as dangerous by the FBI from sharing sensitive intel, and, tell me if I've got this mixed up, now your dead brother might be alive?” Hunk asked the long held silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter? So soon after the last? Will this be a regular thing? I sure hope so, anyway enjoy the chapter!

“So, you're telling me, that you stopped hundreds of tax scams, got your father arrested, got Shiro rescued, have been documented as dangerous by the FBI from sharing sensitive intel, and, tell me if I've got this mixed up, now your dead brother might be alive?” Hunk asked the long held silence.

It had taken a little coaxing, but Shiro had managed to nudge Pidge into telling the others about the problem, which had lead her to just explaining the entire story again to her flabbergasted audience. Who all seemed to be shocked by her capabilities as well as finding out that there was a small chance her brother could be alive. Though really, who would know that code and know to contact Pidge? Matt. Or it was just a huge coincidence and they were taking it too far. Pidge shrugged a little, ducking her head, “I guess?” She felt the eyes on her tenfold and it made her want to curl up and hide. She'd always worked in the dark, now with her actions in the light of day, well it was after ten so it was technically night, but the point is the same, Pidge felt vulnerable.

Shiro stepped a little closer, his hand coming up to rest comfortingly on her shoulder, “Guys this is a big deal, and if it isn't Matt, maybe they know what happened to Matt. Everyone needs closure.” He said, and Pidge relaxed with the back up being provided.

“If I had a chance for my parents to be alive, I'd take it in a heartbeat,” Keith stepped over to Pidge and Shiro, “I'll do anything I can to help.” He offered a smile, it was a little sad, but it was real. Pidge smiled back.

Lance let out a sigh, “Man, my siblings might be a pain, but if anything happened to them I'd probably kill a man, so I'm all in to help out.” Lance was sat on one of the beds in the room, surprisingly not in a baggy hoodie, just a t-shirt and his jeans. He wondered what his siblings are thinking now, that he just up and disappeared with a single text and silence. He'd kill his little brothers for that, but that was a problem for another day.

The last person not to say anything was Hunk, all eyes slowly turned to him. “So what about you?” Pidge asked, he was the most in shock by everything that had happened, the most goody-two-shoes of them all. He couldn't just opt out, could he?

Hunk had his arms crossed, “Well, I can't say I'm not up to help, but I'm lost as to what we could do. You lost contact with this, ‘Auxilio’ guy forever ago, and finding people is hard work. We need time, equipment, resources. We're all the way in Washington State, what are we supposed to do?” He was being the realist, not usually his job, but Keith already took up optimism so it looks like he'll have to do it this round.

Pidge’s heart fell, the weight of this reality settling in her chest and gripping her tight. How could they possibly manage something like this? Pidge didn't have her equipment for dark web searching, she couldn't get onto the servers she used without the proper processors. She didn't have access to the databases she had to bust the Galra, all her tools and equipment were scattered. The task was looking more and more unlikely by the second and the young woman felt like she might start crying. She felt stupid for thinking this might be easy. What would Matt think of this mess she made?

_“Take a deep breath, if you want to fix a problem you can't work yourself up. Logic is going to beat the problem every time. Just take a step back and look at it from a different angle, you'll get it, I know you will.”_

He'd probably be disgustingly supportive and try his best to give advice that would help. Pidge took a deep breath, calming down, the problem looked daunting, but she couldn't let that stop her from trying. “It might seem impossible to you, hell, it seems pretty impossible to me too, but if there is a chance, the smallest, tiniest chance, no matter how unlikely, I need to take it. Matt is my brother, and he'd never give up on me, so I can't give up on him.” Pidge held her chin high, her eyes burning with determination.

Hunk smiled, “Well I can't argue with that, I'm in.” He said, arms falling to his sides as he let down his defenses, prepared to take up the task with the others.

Lance throws his fist up in the air, “Yeah! Go team, time to fight evil and save the day!” He grinned brightly, “We should have a team name, and secret code names so that when we go on cool missions and save your brother we can sound super official.” He hopped off the bed, making an exaggerated fighting pose, eyes locked onto Keith. “Fight me, fingerless gloves.”

Keith snorted, “Dude, I bet you couldn't throw a punch to save your life.” he smirked, hands on his hips as he stared at the other man.

“You underestimate me! I had five siblings and only one bathroom growing up, my sisters were merciless and so was I, our younger brother's never stood a chance.”

Hunk burst out laughing, Pidge was also laughing, Shiro just rolled his eyes, shaking his head, his smile fond. “Quit fooling around Lance, your stance is all off.” Shiro walked over, standing beside him, “Like this,” he pushed Lance's feet apart and positioned his hands, before mirroring the pose. “Now you can throw a punch without falling over.” He relaxed, leaning back.

A light blush rested on Lance's face, “Uh, thanks Shiro.” He knew that Shiro had a lot of… experience fighting, it wasn't from a good place, but Shiro could more than kick ass, he was more than sure of that. It was genuine advice and Lance nodded as he took note of all his limbs before he slipped out if the stance.

“Guys-” Hunk piped up, after he had stopped laughing, “What about ‘Team Voltron’?”

“What's Voltron?” Pidge asked.

“An American dub of an old anime from the eighties.” Shiro answered, “Why team Voltron?” He raised an eyebrow in question.

“No, no, I like it, we've got all five paladins!” Lance cheered, he pointed at Shiro, “Strong and wise, Black Paladin.” He pointed at Keith, “Fast and fierce, Red Paladin.” Pidge was next on the end of his finger, “Small and smart, Green Paladin.” Then Hunk, “Big and kind, Yellow Paladin.” Finally he put his hand under his chin, “Fluid and charismatic, Blue Paladin!” 

“Yeah, Team Voltron!” Hunk held up his hand and Lance high fived him. 

Pidge scoffed at them, “Guys that's ridiculous. We don't need a team name or code names or any of that. I need equipment and we need some help, some of the things I need are on radar things when bought together, if I'm going to try to get back in touch with Auxilio, then I need to get on the servers, and I don't want you guys in any trouble either.”

Hunk and Lance sighed, slumping their shoulders. The two had become a lot closer in the wake of Lance's eating problems, Hunk was there too look out for him, it was getting better, slowly but surely, Lance was eating everyday at least once. Lance was putting himself out more, being more involved, getting comfortable. It was a good start.

Hunk furrowed his brows, “Uh, it might be like, a long shot, but JT told me to call if we ever needed anything.” He suggested.

Everyone just shrugged, “Not much to lose, give her a call.” Keith hummed.

Hunk shuffled around in his bag, pulling out the paper with her number on it and his phone, dialing the numbers and hitting call. It didn't take long for the woman to answer, “Hey, JT, it's Hunk.” The voice on the other end is muffled to everyone crowding around him to try and listen, but it's definitely the slightly eccentric diner owner they had met two weeks priar. “Yeah, I'm doing good, my friends are too, thanks for asking. How are you?” Pidge gave Hunk a pointed look for stalling and he pulled the phone from his mouth, “I'm being polite Pidge.” He rolled his eyes, bringing the phone back, “Oh that was Pidge, she says hi.” He glared at her and she glared back. “JT says ‘hey,’ Pidge. Anyway, I was calling to see if you might be able to help me and my friends out?”

There is a pause. “Really? That's amazing, just- wait, where are you?” He hits the speaker button.

“I'm in Washington State visiting a friend, but I can be back to town by tomorrow.” JT’s voice informs the group from over the phone.

Hunk looked at the others who seemed just as surprised as he was. “No actually we're in Washington right now, just south of Seattle.” Hunk hits the speaker button again and puts the phone back to his ear. “Yeah I can text you the motel address and, we'll see you tomorrow?”

They said their goodbye’s and Hunk hung up the phone. “That was the weirdest coincidence of my life.” 

Shiro was quiet a moment, “What if it wasn't?” He asked.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, sitting down on the bed beside the older man.

Shiro shrugged, “I don't know, just what are the odds that any of this would happen?”

“Maybe it's fate?” Lance suggested, moving to the edge of the bed, Hunk sitting settled at the end of it. “I mean, Keith and I stumbling into a diner in the middle of a desert is one thing, but what are the odds that Hunk was our waiter out of all the others? Or that Pidge was followed into that exact diner and sat with us out of everyone there? Or that Shiro rolled up in his truck and looked just lost enough that I couldn't let him stand there? What are the chances of all of those exact things happening at the same time for us all to meet like that?” Lance sounded awed by it all.

“What are the chances that Shiro was my brother's partner, and that I'm the one who got the Galra busted, and that we met in that diner? That's logically next to impossible.” Pidge piped up from her seat on the pillows on the bed with Shiro and Keith. They all looked at each other, silent.

Keith shifted, feeling a little jittery, pulling his leg up to rest his chin on his knee, “I don't care if it was fate, or a coincidence, or the most fuck all luck ever, I am more than happy with the outcome.” He said, looking down then back up at the group.

As it got later they settled to sleep, Keith snuck out for a long overdue smoke break before he too resigned himself to sleep.

Morning brought with it a knock on the door, and, seeing as Keith was the first one awake, he pushed himself off the bed he was sharing with Shiro and went to the door to tell the cleaning lady or whoever to fuck off, they were sleeping. But when he opened the door it was not a cleaning lady, instead it was JT, holding a few fast food bags and two drink holders stacked with coffee. “Hey, I asked the man at the desk and he gave me the room number, I thought I'd bring breakfast.” The woman walked right passed Keith and he just stared at her as she did. “Oh, they're sleeping.” She whispered as she set the food down.

“Yeah because it's fuck all early, why are you here so early?” Keith hissed keeping his voice low as he shut the door. 

“Opening shift, I'm used to getting up so I do.” She offered as explanation. Taking one of the coffees she held it out, “You wouldn't happen to have an extra cigarette on you?” The woman asked.

Keith pulled out his pack and sighed, “Yeah,” he takes the offered coffee, “if you're willing to share.” he took out his last cigarette, tossing the empty pack to the trash. JT takes a coffee for herself and nods to the door. They step outside, there is a small awning with a banister all along the building and the two lean against in, setting their closed cups on the rough wood. Keith lights the cigarette and takes a long drag, his eyes shut. He holds it as he passes off the cigarette to JT. Keith could remember the first time he tried to smoke, it sucked ass, he half wished he'd been smart enough to call it quits then, but here he was. He wasn't as bad as a lot of people, one every once in a while to calm nerves or keep him grounded. He'd managed to keep his one dwindling pack this long, he'd say that was pretty good.

He let out a long breath, smoke curling around him, after JT handed the cigarette back. “So, why did Hunk call me, what do you guys need?” JT inquired, looking up at the sky, clear and fading into blue as the sun rose higher.

“Well, Pidge’s brother went missing a long time ago, and we're trying to get in touch with a guy that might have an idea on where he is or what happened to him.” Keith explained simply, in not arrestable terms. He was wary about this woman, she was, a tad bit strange, a little too convenient. But he heard Lance's voice in his head at the thought.

_“Maybe it's fate?”_

“Well,” The woman chuckled softly, pausing as Keith handed her the cigarette back, “I know more about that feeling than I'd like to talk about. I'm more than willing to help. What do you need from me?”

Keith hesitated, “Pidge can explain that better when she wakes up.” He settled for something easy, he didn't understand a lot of what they needed, really he didn't understand a lot. He taught himself almost everything he knew, he hardly remembered school, he did run away after all, not a lot of time to enroll when state hopping. They had online schools now, maybe he could talk to Pidge about it. He'd surely be embarrassed at starting over around third grade, but hey, no one is perfect.

After the pair finished their cigarette JT offered to buy Keith another pack and when they returned, new crisp pack of cancer and nicotine in hand, the others started waking up. Pidge yawned and stretched, have wormed her way into bed with Hunk and Lance as Lance hardly took up any space and they've all come to trust each other as descent people, she didn't question JT, only grabbing a coffee and one on the breakfast sandwiches that JT brought and tried to wake up. Shiro woke up next, quirking an eyebrow at JT, but taking a coffee when offered and joining the light conversations the three were having already.

JT was a pretty chill girl, she cooked and painted, and somehow managed to know so many people.

Lance woke up after the group had moved to the bed so they could all sit, he took a coffee and a hashbrown and joined them, too tired to really contribute much. Finally Hunk stirred from his sleep and got off the bed, yawning before his eyes fell onto JT, “My god, how are you here already?”

“Opening shift,” Both JT and Keith responded.

After everyone ate and settled in Pidge finally decided to share her master plan, having made a list of everything she needed, all the tools and parts, she then distributed money and locations to everyone along with what they need to purchase, and a time they'll need to meet back at the motel. After everything was said and done they split up, Pidge went with Shiro, Lance went with Keith, and Hunk went with JT. All three groups got what they needed in separate parts of the city, had their lunches at different locations and finally returned to the motel later in the afternoon, the extra things were just to be sure no one thought all these purchases around the same time were suspicious as they all returned back to the motel separately and at different times. Pidge and Shiro first as Pidge still had to put everything together. It was a long and messy process, but no one said that it was going to be easy. By the end of the night she had the new laptop she bought rigged for the dark web servers via an outside processor. By then JT bid her goodbyes as she promised her son she'd be home before the day was over.

“You have a kid?!” Hunk shrieked in confusion.

“Yeah, it's a long story, his name is Neil, I'll bring him next time.” She waved goodbye and left the motel room.

Pidge got back onto her old chat servers, the one she used for hired hacking, she still had people asking for hacks, large sums of money offered for each, but she dug back to an older one. Everyone gathered around her to watch as carefully she sent a message to the long forgotten board. Her messages to Auxilio, from the looks of it, he was still active from time to time and they were hoping to get his attention soon.

_Do you know Matt Holt?_

It's not until the next day that they get a response from the mystery man.

_I thought you'd never ask, Katie._


End file.
